A's shut out 11-0 as Astros flood Sutter Health Park with 18 hits

A’s shut out 11-0 as Astros flood Sutter Health Park with 18 hits

A’s shut out after Houston controlled the game with 18 hits and 13 walks in an 11-0 loss. The Athletics managed five hits and never threatened.

by
Mark Hebert
April 5, 2026

One day after their best offensive game of the season, the Athletics got shut out and overrun.

Houston pounded out 18 hits Saturday and beat the A’s 11-0 at Sutter Health Park. The Astros scored in five different innings, drew 13 walks, and never let the Athletics settle into the game.

The A’s managed just five hits, went 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position and struck out 13 times.

Astros put Morales under pressure early

Luis Morales never found a clean rhythm.

Houston scored twice in the first on Jose Altuve’s RBI single and Christian Walker’s run-scoring hit. Morales escaped a bases-loaded jam in the second, but the Astros kept leaning on him.

Walker opened the third with a solo homer. Then Christian Vázquez doubled home Jake Meyers later in the inning, and Houston had a 4-0 lead.

That was only the start.

The middle innings got away

The Astros broke it open in the fourth.

Carlos Correa walked, Walker followed with another free pass, and Joey Loperfido ripped a run-scoring ground-rule double after Elvis Alvarado replaced Morales. Yainer Diaz then lined a two-run single to center, pushing the lead to 7-0.

Houston added three more in the sixth. Loperfido singled home Walker, Vázquez doubled in another run, and Yordan Alvarez added an RBI single.

Cam Smith capped it in the eighth with a solo homer to left-center.

Morales took the loss after allowing five runs on eight hits in 3.0 innings. He walked six and did not record a strikeout.

A’s bats never answered

Tatsuya Imai controlled the game from the start.

The Astros right-hander worked 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowed three hits, walked three and struck out nine. Houston’s bullpen finished the shutout from there.

Max Muncy was one of the few bright spots for the A’s. He went 2-for-4. Nick Kurtz reached twice with a single and a walk. Jeff McNeil and Carlos Cortes also had hits.

But there was no sustained push.

Shea Langeliers went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts before leaving after six innings. Lawrence Butler went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. Jacob Wilson went 0-for-4.

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— Athletics (@Athletics) April 4, 2026

The contrast was sharp

Friday night, the A’s cashed in nearly every opening. Saturday, there were almost none.

Houston finished 7-for-22 with runners in scoring position and left 17 men on base, which showed just how much traffic it created. Even with four double plays turned behind them, the A’s never slowed the game enough to change it.

In the end, the Astros controlled the afternoon from the first inning on. The Athletics were left trying to flush a lopsided loss as quickly as possible.

Up Next

The Athletics wrap up the series Sunday afternoon at Sutter Health Park. Left-hander Jacob Lopez is expected to start for the A’s, while Houston counters with right-hander Lance McCullers Jr., who enters at 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA.