HOUSTON — Lance McCullers Jr. pitched six shutout innings in his season debut to help the Houston Astros send the A’s to their seventh straight loss Saturday night.
Alex Bregman homered and Trey Mancini had three hits to put Houston in position to sweep its three-game against the A’s — two weeks after Oakland swept the Astros in Oakland.
A’s starter Zach Logue (3-6) gave up six runs on eight hits, walked two and struck out two in 5 1/3 innings. The Athletics were limited to five hits and left six runners on base.
McCullers, an All-Star in 2017, allowed two hits, struck out five and walked four, tossing 47 of his 81 pitches for strikes. It’s his first shutout since August 31, 2021.
The 28-year-old McCullers (1-0) pitched for the first time in 305 days for Houston, last going for the Astros in Game 4 of the 2021 AL Divisional Series against the Chicago White Sox. McCullers went on to miss the 2021 ALCS and World Series for the Astros due to a right flexor tendon strain.
McCullers got plenty of offensive support from the start.
In the first inning, Bregman belted his 15th homer of the season, making it 2-0. It was Bregman’s ninth home run and 33rd RBI since June 17.
The Astros tacked on two more runs in the sixth, stretching the lead to 6-0. The inning was highlighted by Mancini’s RBI double as he finished 3 for 4. Since being acquired by Houston from Baltimore, Mancini is 8 for 27 with eight RBIs.
Kyle Tucker and Chas McCormick each had an RBI triple. It was Tucker’s team-leading 76th RBI of the season.
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