About the only way the A’s can hope to compete with the division-league Astros, who consistently pummel Oakland, is to try to out-homer them.
And on Friday at the Coliseum, the A’s tried their darndest, getting four home runs, including a game-tying grand slam by Marcus Semien in the seventh and another game-tying shot in the ninth, a solo homer by rookie Boog Powell leading off the inning.
In the end, though, it was just a base hit to left center that decided it - Jed Lowrie sent in Semien from second in the ninth to give Oakland a 9-8 victory, giving the A’s a modest two-game winning streak in the wake of a season-high eight-game losing streak.