OAKLAND, Calif. _ Marco Estrada got off to a poor start and Alex Bregman broke the game open with a grand slam in the fourth inning Tuesday night as the Oakland A's opened an eight-game homestand at the Coliseum with a 9-1 loss to the division-leading Houston Astros.
Collin McHugh (3-1) was the winning pitcher for Houston, working six shutout innings and giving up just two hits with two walks and five strikeouts before departing in favor of relievers Josh James, Reymin Guduan and Chris Devenski.
The A's, who were off Monday and had a rainout Saturday, fell to 10-10 before 12,270 fans, their smallest crowd of the season. Houston improved to 12-5.
Bregman's grand slam came off of reliever Liam Hendricks, but it was Estrada who loaded the bases and set the stage.
Trailing 3-0, Estrada opened the inning with a walk to Yuli Gurriel. Josh Reddick followed with a well-placed lob to left for a single and Robinson Chrinos was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Estrada's third walk _ and the last hitter he would face _ went to George Springer, forcing in a run.
That was all A's manager Bob Melvin needed to see, as he replaced Estrada with Hendricks. Hendricks struck out Jose Altuve for the second out before Bregman hit a 1-1 pitch over the left center field fence for his second career grand slam and an 8-0 lead.
The Astros added a sacrifice fly in the seventh by Chirinos.
It was a rough outing for Estrada from the start, as Springer opened the game with a no-doubt-about-it home run to left as the leadoff hitter. In the third, Estrada served up another, this one to Reddick with Gurriel aboard to put the A's down 3-0.
Estrada (0-2) was rested, having last pitched on April 8 in a 12-4 loss to Baltimore. In that game, the 35-year-old veteran gave up nine hits and six earned runs in four innings.
The A's never got a runner to third base until the ninth, when Guduan loaded the bases on a walk and singles by Chad Pinder and Mark Canha. Kendrys Morales hit a sacrifice fly to avert the shutout, and Devenski struck out Stephen Piscotty and retired Jurickson Profar on a foul pop to left to end the game.
