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Houston improves to 7-0 vs. Oakland in 2023 as rookie RHP pitches into 8th
6:02 AM UTC
OAKLAND — When it comes to getting results and maintaining composure on the mound, J.P. France has impressed by providing both in ample supply for the Astros midway through his rookie season.
France pitched into the eighth inning for the first time in the big leagues as the Astros supplied just enough offense to beat the A’s, 3-1, to open their four-game set at the Coliseum on Thursday night.
Houston improved to 7-0 against Oakland in 2023, thanks to another strong showing from the team’s resident road warrior.
Tossing seven-plus innings of one-run ball, France lowered his MLB-best road ERA to 2.05 (minimum 40 innings). The 28-year-old right-hander scattered six hits and a walk while striking out five batters.
Home or away, France’s presence has reliably been solid enough to anchor the Astros.
“He’s the same way all the time,” manager Dusty Baker said. “We can’t tell when he’s rattled or when he’s happy, you know what I mean?”
France had a less than ideal start to his evening when he issued a leadoff walk to Tony Kemp, who came around to score on Seth Brown’s two-out RBI double. But France didn’t seem fazed, appearing to grow stronger as his outing continued, closing out his night with six scoreless frames.
“I just knew I just needed to attack the lineup,” France said. “I was kind of nibbling a little bit with Kemp. But at the same time, he’s a super patient hitter; he’s not going to chase, really, anything out of the zone. … Really, after that double, it was just attack and get to the bottom of the zone.”
Entering Thursday, France had relied most upon his four-seam fastball, throwing it 42.6% of the time. He gave the A’s a different look by going heavy on changeups, throwing 33 of them and getting six of his 12 whiffs on the pitch.
“That’s one of his better pitches,” catcher Yainer Diaz said in Spanish through interpreter Jenloy Herrera. “We saw that he was executing it well today, and it gave us the confidence to call it a lot more. That’s kind of one of the reasons we were able to have the success we had today.”
It was a solid bounce-back effort for France, who labored in his previous start, allowing four runs (two earned) on nine hits — all singles — over 4 1/3 innings in the Astros’ second-half opener against the Angels.
The rookie right-hander has consistently given the Astros length this season. Prior to his abridged outing last Friday, France had completed at least six innings in seven straight games, a span that also included six consecutive quality starts.
Of course, winning a baseball game is no single-handed effort. France gave special props to center fielder Jake Meyers, who robbed A’s designated hitter Jordan Diaz of extra bases with a leaping grab at the wall in right-center field to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning.
“That’s a complete game-changer right there,” France said. “Guy on second, I think it was no outs, maybe — yeah, that’s a tough situation to get out of. I mean, that’s why they did that rule in extra innings to kind of speed the game up because usually, more than likely, that run’s going to score.”
Added Meyers: “That’s what fires me up, making the play for the pitcher.”
A few innings later, Houston’s bats finally found an answer for Oakland lefty Hogan Harris, who had held them to one hit through his first five innings. With two outs in the sixth, the Astros notched three straight hits capped by Kyle Tucker’s two-run double to take the lead.
Tucker has now hit safely in 17 straight road games, the longest active streak in the Majors and the second longest this season behind the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman (24 games from May 10 to July 1).
Alex Bregman added a bit of breathing room with a solo homer in the ninth against Freddy Tarnok.
By necessity more than anything else, France has performed well under the pressure of close games. Though he had received plenty of run support in three outings leading up to Thursday’s win, 10 of his 13 starts this season have ultimately been decided by two runs or fewer.
“Once you get used to pitching in close games, it takes you to a higher level of concentration,” Baker said. “You have to concentrate [on] every pitch, because that could be the ballgame.”
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