Oakland Fans Are Eatin’ It Up!
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Astro*Notes
When the Astros began this 4-game series at Oakland on Friday against the A’s, they were taking on the already eliminated last place club in the AL West.
At 59-80 on the season, the A’s also began the series with the 2nd worst record in the AL.
The Astros, on the other hand, began the series with an 86-53 mark, best by 3 games over the surging Cleveland Indians for best record in the AL and the coveted home field advantage in the upcoming post-season AL playoffs.
Things were looking good for the Astros until they played these first 3 games in Oakland, a solo game Friday night, followed by yesterday’s Saturday double-header.
The A’s, so far, have defeated the Astros in those first 3, with the finale coming up this Sunday afternoon, by successive scores of 9-8, 11-1, and 11-4.
Totals stagger the mind for the first 3 games. The allegedly nobody A’s, with nothing left to play for but pride, loose fun, and the end of the season, have gone as banana gold as one of their primary uniform colors.
For the A’s in their first 3 games with the Astros this weekend, the club has scored a total of 31 runs on 39 hits and 7 homers!
Astro starters McHugh and Morton went successively for 5.0 innings, followed by Peacock’s 5.2 inning stint in Game 3.
Altogether, the Astro starters gave up only 8 runs total, with only 7 of them being earned. Their starter departures allowed their relief help to surrender the balance of those other 25 A’s runs scored.
This Sunday morning, the Astros and Indians are now tied in the AL for the eventual winner’s right to home field advantage through the AL Playoffs with identical records of 86-56. The Astros got here by getting creamed by one of the reputedly worst clubs in the league. The Indians roared into the tie by winning their 17th game in a row on Saturday.
UNFUDGINGLIEVABLE!
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AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST STANDINGS
THRU GAMES OF SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2017
| RANK | AL WEST | W | L | PCT. | GB |
| 1 | ASTROS | 86 | 56 | .606 | |
| 2 | ANGELS | 72 | 70 | .507 | 14.0 |
| 3 | RANGERS | 71 | 70 | .504 | 14.5 |
| 4 | MARINERS | 71 | 71 | .500 | 15.0 |
| 5 | ATHLETICS | 62 | 80 | .437 | 24.0 |
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AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST GAME SCORES
THRU GAMES OF SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2017
ATHLETICS 11, 11 – ASTROS 1, 4
YANKEES 3 – RANGERS 1
MARINERS 8 – ANGELS 1
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AMERICAN LEAGUE BATTING AVERAGE LEADERS
THRU GAMES OF SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2017
| RANK | PLAYER | TEAM | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BA |
| 1 | JOSE ALTUVE | HOU | 534 | 187 | 37 | 4 | 23 | .350 |
| 2 | ERIC HOSMER | KC | 530 | 171 | 25 | 1 | 24 | .323 |
| 3 | AVISAIL GARCIA | CWS | 443 | 142 | 22 | 4 | 16 | .321 |
| 4 | JOSH REDDICK | HOU | 438 | 139 | 30 | 3 | 13 | .317 |
| 5 | JOSE RAMERIZ | CLE | 525 | 162 | 47 | 6 | 25 | .309 |
| NR* | CARLOS CORREA | HOU | 350 | 107 | 18 | 1 | 20 | .306 |
| 6 | JOE MAUER | MIN | 455 | 139 | 32 | 1 | 6 | .305 |
| 7 | ELVIS ANDRUS | TEX | 567 | 173 | 40 | 4 | 20 | .305 |
| 8 | JONATHAN SCHOOP | BAL | 544 | 164 | 33 | 0 | 31 | .301 |
| 9 | JEAN SEGURA | SEA | 466 | 140 | 28 | 2 | 8 | .300 |
| 10 | JOE ABREU | CWS | 547 | 164 | 37 | 5 | 29 | .300 |
| RANK | OTHER TOP 40 ASTROS | TEAM | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BA |
| 12 | GEORGE SPRINGER | HOU | 478 | 141 | 25 | 0 | 31 | .295 |
| 13 | MARWIN GONZALEZ | HOU | 402 | 118 | 27 | 0 | 21 | .294 |
| 20 | YULI GURRIEL | HOU | 473 | 136 | 36 | 1 | 17 | .288 |
| 22 | ALEX BREGMAN | HOU | 486 | 138 | 34 | 5 | 16 | .284 |
NR * LOST TIME ON THE DL HAS TEMPORARILY REMOVED CORREA FROM AN OFFICIAL QUALIFYING PLACE IN THE RANKING OF TOP 40 HITTERS.
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Bill McCurdy
Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher
The Pecan Park Eagle
Houston, Baseball, & Other Musings.
The Pecan Park Eagle 