OAKLAND, Calif. — It was a day to remember for Houston catcher Korey Lee, but another one to forget for the Athletics.
Lee, a first-round draft pick out of Cal in 2019, had three hits and drove in three runs in a 6-1 win over the Athletics Sunday before a crowd of 10,195 at the Coliseum. They were the first hits and RBIs of his major league career. Afterward, he was given the ball from his first hit as well as the lineup card.
“Hopefully one day whenever I get a house I’ll put it up in a little man cave,” Lee said. “I’ll just sit tight in that apartment right now and just remind me of everything.”
In attendance were Lee’s mother, brother and some friends from Cal.
“It’s crazy, being in Oakland,” Lee said. “The people here, the fans are really special so it was nice to get a little taste of home and do my thing here. It was a good day.”
The loss denied the Athletics (29-58) in a bid to win back-to-back series for the first time this season, having taken two of three from Toronto coming into the three-game set with Houston.
The Astros, who have essentially lapped the field in the A.L. West, improved to 56-29.
The A’s offense was locked up by Houston starter Jake Odorizzi (4-2), who gave up four hits with a walk and seven strikeouts in seven shutout innings. It was the first time this season Odorizzi has completed seven innings. He gave way to Phil Maton in the eighth and Bryan Abreu in the ninth.
The Athletics, who had precisely four hits in each of their previous four games, got their fifth and final hit in the eighth inning when third baseman Vimael Machin hit his first major league home run.
Lee got his first hit in the fifth against A’s starter and loser Cole Irvin (3-7), who pitched well with no offensive support. He added a two-run single in a three-run seventh against Austin Pruitt.
“Nothing any different than another at-bat, that’s how I was looking at it,” Lee said. “But it was something special as soon as I got on first.”
Kyle Tucker added a solo home run against Pruitt in the eighth inning, his 17th of the season.
Lee was promoted to the Houston roster on July 1 when another local player, veteran catcher Jason Castro of Stanford and Castro Valley High, went on the injured list. At Cal, Lee hit .337 with 15 homers and 57 RBIs before being drafted. Teammates included Andrew Vaughn, the No. 3 overall pick of the Chicago White Sox in the same draft, and Darren Baker, whose father Dusty is now Lee’s manager.
Houston got its first run against Irvin when the game was three batters old as Jose Altuve doubled and one out later was doubled in by Alex Bregman.
Irvin left after six innings, having recorded half of the 18 outs on his watch on fly balls. He gave up two earned runs and in two July starts has a 1.93 earned run average. Irvin pitched eight innings and gave up four hits in his previous start against Toronto.
“They like to put the ball in the air so I was trusting the outfielders today,” Irvin said. “Little bit more curveball usage than I’ve had all season. Made my fastball look a little bit harder. Didn’t have good command of it early but it got better. I really wasn’t thinking too much out there. Vogter (catcher Steven Vogt) was calling a great game.”
Said A’s manager Mark Kotsay: “Cole has become a professional. He knows how to pitch. He did that well today, changing speeds, changing heights, throwing his fastball up. Kept that offense to two runs through six innings and gave us a chance to win.”
Irvin was lifted in favor of Pruitt after throwing 81 pitches, 52 of them strikes.
