A’s sweep Astros, but Laureano may face supplemental discipline
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OAKLAND — Ramón Laureano may face supplemental discipline from Major League Baseball for his role in a bench-clearing melee that erupted during Sunday’s game between the A’s and Houston Astros at the Coliseum.
In the seventh inning in what would become a 7-2 win by the A’s, Laureano, on first base after he was plunked by Humberto Castellanos, charged at Houston hitting coach Alex Cintrón after the two got into a shouting match
Laureano was tackled by Astros catcher Dustin Garneau before he could get to Cintrón. Both benches and bullpens emptied.
The melee later dispersed and both Laureano and A’s catcher Austin Allen, who got tied up with Astros catcher Martín Maldonado, were ejected from the game. No Astros player or coach was tossed, although manager Dusty Baker was ejected earlier for arguing balls and strikes.
“I don’t know how we end up getting a couple guys kicked out and it kind of came out of their dugout,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “I don’t understand it, but that’s just how it worked out. Ramón’s not going over there for no reason.”
Melvin also made it clear that MLB needs to look at the actions of Cintrón, who waved at Laureano to come toward him. Laureano waved back at Cintrón, who then moved onto the top step of the dugout and walked toward the A’s outfielder.
Cintrón, who played nine seasons in the big leagues and is in his second season as Houston’s hitting coach, stayed out of the pile as Astros players converged on Laureano.
“Ramón doesn’t go there unless something completely offensive came out of the dugout,” Melvin said. “And I think the league knows who that is. And that person should be suspended. So hopefully that’s the case.”
The A’s were leading 6-2 when Laureano was beaned by Castellanos in the back with a breaking ball. Castellanos also hit Laureano in Friday’s game, when Robbie Grossman was hit twice by Astros pitchers.
Laureano, who was also hit earlier in the game by former A’s draft pick Brandon Bailey, had words for Castellanos as two umpires stepped in between the two players. Laureano appeared to motion to Castellanos that he wasn’t snapping off his slider enough, causing it to go straighter than it should.
But when Laureano reached first, he and Cintrón got into a verbal back-and-forth before an irate Laureano made his move.
Laureano charges the Astros dugout and the brawl breaks out pic.twitter.com/CQ2K8kFnlb
— A's on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) August 9, 2020
Last month, Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly was suspended eight games and manager Dave Roberts was banned for one game by MLB for an altercation in a game with the Astros at Minute Maid Park.
MLB officials were upset by the incident, with opposing players breaking protocol by unnecessarily getting so close to each other.
Baseball has been in the spotlight, as the St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins have struggled to get a handle on coronavirus outbreaks.
“We understand, and you do the best you can with these things,” Melvin said. “Obviously, we don’t want to get into a brawl like that, and we understand the protocol. So, unfortunately, it happened.”
Coming into Sunday, Laureano was hitting .288 with three home runs and 10 RBI in 165 games this season. He was 0-for-2 on Sunday, although the A’s are 9-3 this season when he has had at least one base hit.
“We’ll just have to see what happens,” Olson said in regards to a possible Laureano suspension. “Ramon’s an emotional guy. He’s been hit a bunch of times this year. (Cintrón) started saying things that shouldn’t be said. … I hope it’s nothing bad. Ramon’s been great for us in the lineup.”
Sunday’s fracas added another chapter to the already simmering rivalry between the two teams, as the A’s, with their ninth straight win, took a five-game lead in the American League West.
Grossman, Olson and Matt Chapman all homered for Oakland. Olson hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the third inning off Astros starter Cristian Javier for a 4-1 lead, and Chapman followed that with a solo homer to left.
The A’s now have 14 homers over their last seven games, and starter Jesús Luzardo struck out five for his first career major league victory.
The series sweep by the A’s was their first over the Astros in Oakland since 2017, when they swept a four-game set from Sept. 8-10, which included a double-header on Sept. 9.
Luzardo exited the game in the sixth inning with two outs and two on. Yusmeiro Petit came in and walked Yuli Gurriel to load the bases. But Petit struck out Carlos Correa on three pitches to end the threat.
The A’s now begin an eight game road trip, starting with three games in Anaheim against the Angels. They also play three games in San Francisco Aug. 14-16 and close to road trip Aug 17-18 in Arizona.
Luzardo was looking for his first major league victory after he had a no decision in his first start, a 5-1 A’s win over Texas on Tuesday. He had five strikeouts and allowed two walks over five scoreless innings.