For the last time as a franchise in Oakland, the A’s are meeting their fiercest rival of the current division alignment: the Houston Astros.
Moving from Oakland to Sacramento — and then, as the plan goes, Las Vegas — won’t change much for this particular rivalry. The Athletics and Astros will still play in the same division. And they’ll still share a whole lot of recent history.
That history, though, like so much with the A’s, risks being ignored by the fans who have cherished the A’s since they moved from Kansas City to Oakland in 1968.
This week’s three-game set in in Houston is the Athletics’ most anticipated series remaining until their final homestand in two weeks against the New York Yankees and, finally, Sept. 24-26 against Texas. Their final series as an Oakland-based franchise the final weekend of the season in Seattle.
Before the Athletics and Astros potentially create more memorable moments during the Oakland A’s final visit to Minute Maid Park , here’s a look at the rivalry between two teams.
The division dominance
In the 11 seasons since 2013, when the Astros moved from the National League Central to the American League West, either Houston or Oakland has won eight division titles. The A’s won the division in 2012, meaning either the Athletics or Astros has won nine of the past 12 division crowns.
In both 2018 and 2019, the Athletics finished with 97 wins, only to place second in the division to 100-win Astros teams. Then in the shortened 2020 season, the A’s held off the Astros to win what will go down as Oakland’s final AL West title, only to lose to the Astros in the AL Division Series. Since 2017, the A’s are the only team to beat Houston for the division crown, a streak that is poised to continue this year as Houston paces to another AL West title.
The cheating scandal
The Astros’ 2017 cheating scandal shook up the baseball world. Former Houston reliever turned A’s ace Mike Fiers helped unearth it.
Fiers, after he won the 2017 World Series with Houston, ended up in Oakland, where he went public about the Astros’ sign-stealing system in an interview following the 2019 season. That only enflamed the Astros-A’s rivalry even more.
One Astro called Fiers a “snitch.” Then A’s starter Sean Manaea called MLB’s punishment — which affected practically everyone involved with the scandal except for the players — “B.S.”
When details of Houston’s scandal got unearthed, everyone in baseball had contempt for the Astros. Somehow, with Fiers’ role in the story, the Astros found a reason to direct their anger toward the A’s.
The brawl
Tensions tend to be high in division matchups, but they came to a head on Aug. 9, 2020. There were no fans in the stands, but things got heated anyways.
Ramón Laureano got hit by a pitch for the second time in the game and the third in the series. Gesturing toward the pitcher as he walked to first, Astros hitting coach Alex Cintrón yelled toward the A’s outfielder.
Laureano charged Cintrón and Houston’s dugout. The benches cleared, COVID-era social distancing guidelines be damned. Astros coaches wrestled Laureano to the grass before he could do any damage. Laureano got a six-game suspension and Cintrón got a 20-game ban for instigating the fight.
After the cheating scandal came to light, the Astros didn’t make many friends around the league. Cintrón, whom Laureano later called a “loser,” didn’t help with that.
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The playoff meeting
Months after the Laureano brawl, the A’s and Astros met in the ALDS – their first and only playoff meeting.
At 36-24, the A’s were tied for the second-best regular season record in MLB. Led by ace Chris Bassitt and an elite bullpen, Oakland’s pitching staff ranked fifth in the league in team ERA.
Oakland had Bassitt, Liam Hendriks in his prime, Marcus Semien, Matt Chapman, Matt Olson and Sean Murphy. They were stacked.
But Houston eliminated them in four games, taking the best-of-five series 3-1.
The A’s scored first in each of the four games, but only won Game 3 — 9-7. Relievers who were so effective in the regular season like Yusmeiro Petit, Joakim Soria and J.B. Wendelken folded against the battle-hardened Astros lineup.
It was the last time the A’s made the postseason, and perhaps their best shot in the modern era of winning a world championship. The Dodgers went on to beat the Rays in the World Series.
More to come this series?
The Astros are 4.5 games up on the Mariners for the division, meaning they’re on the cusp of their seventh AL West title in the past eight years. The only other division winner since 2017 was the A’s in 2020.
But the Athletics are certainly capable of playing spoiler. Since July 1, the A’s rank third as a team in wRC+, behind only the Yankees and Diamondbacks. They’re 25-21 in the second half, right on pace with Houston in that span (27-20).
On the other hand, Oakland’s elimination number is four, meaning Houston could be the team that ends the Athletics’ mathematical playoff hopes. Eliminating the A’s is a formality at this point, but nonetheless a potential feather in Houston’s cap.
