Rookie Nick Kurtz walloped a two-run walk-off homer with no outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving the Athletics a 3-1 victory over the Houston Astros on Monday night at West Sacramento, Calif.
Brent Rooker opened the ninth by drawing a walk against Bryan Abreu (1-3). Kurtz then jumped on a 2-1 slider and bashed it 447 feet over the fence in right-center to give the Athletics a dramatic victory in the opener of a four-game series.
JJ Bleday also homered for the Athletics, who have won a season-best four straight games after losing 24 of their previous 28 contests.
Jose Altuve went deep for Houston, which had its season-best five-game winning streak end.
Mason Miller (1-2) struck two in a perfect ninth for the A’s.
The homer was the seventh of the season for Kurtz, the fourth overall pick in the 2024 draft. The walk-off blast was the first of his brief major league career.
Houston rookie Ryan Gusto struck out a career-high eight in five innings. He gave up one run, three hits and one walk.
Gusto had his start moved up a day when Lance McCullers was scratched Monday and placed on the 15-day injured list due to a sprained right foot.
Steven Okert, Shawn Dubin and Bryan King each pitched a scoreless inning of relief for Houston.
King received some help in getting out of a jam in the bottom of the eighth. Tyler Soderstrom singled to right with two outs and Jacob Wilson went from first to third.
Soderstrom tried to take second on the throw and was ruled safe. However, Houston challenged the call and the replay displayed that Soderstrom’s foot came off the bag while shortstop Jeremy Pena had the tag on him, ending the frame.
Athletics starter Mitch Spence allowed one run and seven hits over five innings. He struck out two and walked one.
J.T. Ginn (quadriceps) was activated from the 15-day injured list on Monday by the A’s. He replaced Spence and fanned five in three shutout innings. He gave up one hit and no walks.
Altuve homered with two outs in the first inning when he belted a Spence slider 439 feet over the fence in left.
Bleday knotted the score with one out in the fifth when he sent a full-count fastball from Gusto over the right-center-field fence.
