Brent Rooker clubbed a pair of home runs, including a three-run walk-off blast in the 10th inning that lifted the host Athletics to a wild 12-10 win over the Houston Astros in the rubber match of a three-game series on Sunday.
Rooker, who finished with six RBIs, drove in Shea Langeliers and Tyler Soderstrom with his shot off Astros closer Bryan Abreu (0-1). Rooker smashed a 2-0 fastball to left field that trumped Houston’s run in the top of the 10th.
Elvis Alvarado (1-0), who retired the final two batters in the Astros’ 10th inning, earned the win.
The Athletics erased a three-run deficit with a five-run fifth, and when the Astros pulled even at 5-all on a two-run homer from Christian Walker in the top of the seventh, Rooker ignited a four-run outburst in the bottom of that frame by snapping an 0-for-13 skid with his first home run.
Soderstrom walked against reliever AJ Blubaugh leading off the seventh. Rooker followed by drilling a 2-0 fastball out to left, pushing the Athletics to a 7-5 lead. Blubaugh departed after Max Muncy followed a Lawrence Butler double with a single that set the table for Jeff McNeil to deliver an RBI single to shallow center that eluded Astros shortstop Nick Allen.
Butler scored on the McNeil single and Muncy scored when Carlos Cortes singled to right off reliever Christian Roa. Blubaugh allowed four runs, five hits and two walks in two innings.
Trailing 9-5, the Astros fashioned an immediate response against reliever Scott Barlow. Jake Meyers opened the top of the eighth with his first home run and, three batters later, Jose Altuve chased Barlow with an RBI double that plated Joey Loperfido. Mark Leiter Jr. retired two batters with the bases loaded, but Cam Smith delivered a game-tying two-run single to center.
Yordan Alvarez clubbed his fourth home run in the top of the fifth off Athletics starter Jacob Lopez, a two-run shot, and Smith extended the Houston lead to 3-0 with his RBI single against Justin Sterner.
Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr. was unable to hold the lead as the bottom of the Athletics order ignited the rally that yielded a 5-3 lead in the bottom of the fifth. Cortes chased McCullers with a run-scoring double to right. Soderstrom delivered the biggest blow with a bases-clearing triple off Astros reliever Steven Okert that handcuffed Meyers and scored McNeil, Cortes and Nick Kurtz.
–Field Level Media
