Athletics edge Astros 6-5 on sixth-inning surge

Final Result and Venue

The Sacramento Athletics defeated the Houston Astros 6-5 on Saturday, September 26, 2026, at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento, California. The game drew an attendance of 9,012 fans. With this victory, the Athletics improved their record to 64-96, while the Astros dropped to 79-81.

Game Flow and Key Plays

The Astros took an early lead in the fourth inning when Walker hit a 425-foot home run to left field, putting Houston ahead 1-0. The Athletics responded decisively in the sixth inning with a four-run rally that shifted the momentum. Stefanic singled to center, driving in McNeil and Gelof to tie the game. Heim then singled to left, scoring Clarke. Bolte followed with a triple to center, bringing in White and Heim to give Sacramento a 5-1 lead. Butler grounded into a fielder's choice to first, allowing Bolte to score and extending the Athletics' advantage to 6-1.

Houston attempted a comeback in the seventh inning when Smith hit a 366-foot home run to left field, narrowing the gap to 6-2. The Astros continued their push in the eighth inning. Altuve hit a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Wade Jr. Diaz singled to left, allowing Alvarez to score and Paredes to reach second.

Paredes subsequently scored on a wild pitch by Medina, bringing the Astros within one run at 6-5. Walker and Diaz advanced on the same wild pitch, but the Astros could not generate another run.

Pitching Performance

Jacob Lopez earned the win for the Athletics, pitching six innings while allowing two hits and one earned run. He struck out four batters and walked two. Hogan Harris secured the save, pitching one scoreless inning with one strikeout and one walk. For Houston, Hunter Brown took the loss. He pitched 5.1 innings, allowing two hits and one earned run, with four walks and four strikeouts. Bennett Sousa, AJ Blubaugh, Logan VanWey, and Joshua Hendrickson also appeared in the losing effort for the Astros.

Sources

ESPN