With baseball still on hiatus, we continue to simulate games for the 2020 MLB season. Here are the results for April 24-26 for the American League.
It turns out that the best way to slow the Houston Astros is the tried and true old-school method: great pitching.
Behind strong efforts from Sean Manaea and Chris Bassitt, the Oakland Athletics halted Houston’s winning streak at 12 games this weekend, then gave the Astros something new to ponder; a losing streak.
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Granted, the losing streak is only two games long…but you have to start somewhere.
After Justin Verlander shut out the A’s 3-0 in the Friday opener of their simulated three-game series at Minute Maid Park — that win extending Houston’s streak to 12 games – Manaea took over Saturday. He held the Astros to three hits, one a Yordan Alvarez second inning home run, for a 2-1 A’s win.
Third baseman Matt Chapman provided the offense, homering off Houston starter Zack Greinke with Marcus Semien on base in the top of the third.
It was Houston’s first defeat since a 2-0 loss to Texas April 11. The second followed one day later when Bassitt held the Astros to one run and five hits in six innings. He left leading 4-1, but Houston rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth against Jake Diekman and Liam Hendriks to make it close. The final was 5-4.
The outcomes reduced Houston’s lead in the AL West to a still-healthy five and one-half games over the Rangers, Oakland moving into third place, seven and one-half games back.
With one month of the simulated season now in the books, Minnesota narrowly leads Houston for possession of the AL’s best record. The Twins sit at 21-8, the Astros at 20-8. New York, which took two of three-weekend games from Cleveland, leads Boston in the AL East by a half-game.