HOUSTON _ Josh Reddick had a way of stealing the spotlight when he played for the A's, and he did it again Friday playing against them in a 9-4 Astros win that sent Oakland to its fifth consecutive loss.
Even on a night when A's left fielder Khris Davis threatened to own the moment with two homers and four RBIs, former Oakland right fielder Reddick was the one who found his way into the record book.
Reddick's penchant to swing down on the ball twice caught the glove of Oakland catcher Stephen Vogt for catcher's interference calls. Reddick, who signed a four-year deal with the Astros as a free agent this winter, became just the seventh player in big league history to reach base twice in the same game on catcher's interference calls.
Beyond that, Reddick made a terrific running catch one step before hitting the right field wall in the eighth inning. The Astros led 7-4 at the time, but Ryon Healy's rocket could have made it 7-6 had not Reddick done what former Gold Glove winner Reddick does.
He also singled twice, in all putting himself in the midst of three Houston rallies.
The Astros scored their first four runs in the innings when Reddick reached base on the interference calls, but the first inning call was particularly crushing for Oakland. The A's had a 3-0 lead when Reddick reached base, and Houston went on to score three runs to tie the game after there were two out off A's rookie starter Jharel Cotton.
Oakland's early lead came on a first inning Davis homer with a couple of men on. And Davis gave the A's back the lead in the third with a solo homer that made it 4-3. Davis, now the American League home run leader with nine, has homered two times in a game twice this season and 13 times in his career.
The A's didn't have much going for them offensively beyond Davis, Oakland getting just two more hits off Houston starter Charlie Morton after the second of Davis' homers. Houston It was a big night for Morton, who came up with a career-high 12 strikeouts in seven innings before former A's reliever Luke Gregerson took over in the eighth.
In their last 14 games the A's have lost four in a row, won five in a row and now lost five in succession. Those results leave Oakland six games out of first place in the American League West with a 10-13 record. The A's didn't get that far out of first last season until May 10.
