Cam Smith’s swing was lost in the attempt to hit the 98 mph fastball from right-hander Luis Medina to end the top of the eighth inning with the bases loaded. Five pitches earlier, the Houston Astros had scored the fifth run to make it a 6-5 game, so they had the possibility of driving in the tying and go-ahead runs with two outs.

Smith’s at-bat was the key to the game, although we cannot forget Houston’s reaction after trailing 6-1 in the top of the seventh inning. The Athletics scored all their runs in a six-run rally during an agonizing sixth inning for the Astros.

The hitters at the top of the lineup—from the first through the fourth spots—starting with Jeremy Peña (0-for-5, K), Yordan Alvarez (1-for-3, K), Isaac Paredes (0-for-3 K) to José Altuve (0-for-3, RBI), combined to go 1-for-14. The only hit was Yordan’s, a single with a runner on first during the beginning of the eighth. Yainer Díaz (2-for-4) drove in a run and remains hot with the bat, while Christian Walker (1-for-3) and Cam Smith (1-for-3) hit solo home runs.

The bullpen failed again, although an error by José Altuve complicated the inning for Hunter Brown. Then, Bennet Sousa inherited the difficult situations in the inning, allowing three consecutive singles until he was relieved by AJ Blubaugh, who allowed a two-run triple by Henry Bolte and a fielder’s choice by Walker, who could not put Bolte out at the plate after a ground ball by Lawrence Butler.

The bullpen and defense failed again

There were three interesting aspects that turned the inning into a true disaster for Houston on Friday night in Sacramento, just when a victory would have given them a postseason berth because the Texas Rangers lost 10-2 to the Minnesota Twins. The point here is that the three defensive plays made a notable difference in allowing the Athletics to put together the rally.

Three defensive mistakes turned one inning into a disaster

First, Altuve missed a throw on an excellent play deep in the hole at shortstop in which Jeremy Pena once again showed his high range as a fielder. He got to the ball moving to his right, made an almost off-balance throw with enough time and without Altuve having to make a great effort to field the throw. And I think Altuve’s mistake was precisely in those short seconds when he did not get there quickly enough to cover the base, perhaps thinking the ground ball would go toward left field.

The other play that unleashed the worst part of the inning was Bolte’s deep fly ball to right field. Smith ran backward, and the way he turned his back to the fly ball made it seem like he was sure he would not get there in time to field it in front of the wall. That is what happened. But what caught my attention most about the play is that Smith barely reacted the way an outfielder at his level should. It was a basic play. If you think you will not reach the fly ball, then you have two options: a) quickly position yourself to play the rebound or; b) take the risk and make the attempt to field it regardless of the outcome.

Smith did neither. Maybe he thought Bolte’s fly ball would travel beyond the wall. But then he reacted too passively to try to grab the rebound. Those fractions of a second made the difference and the Athletics took advantage of that slip. Any player can make this type of mental mistake, although this is precisely what they are asked not to do. Now, the problem is that the Astros are playing for a postseason berth, and these types of mistakes can ruin the possibility of making the playoffs.

The plays that never became outs continued, as Walker picked up a ground ball at first base and decided to throw home to put out the runner at third. To be honest, it seemed to me that Walker had time to make an effective throw that could have gotten the runner, but he threw too far to the right of catcher Yainer Díaz and could not complete the play. The inning continued and the Athletics had two good at-bats with one out, with Shea Langeliers and Jeff McNeil coming to the plate, who ended up striking out and flying out to left field, respectively.

Before taking the mound Friday against the Athletics, Brown had been unhittable in his four September starts with a 2-0 record, 3.00 ERA and a 14.5 K/9 strikeout rate. He threw 100 pitches over 5 2/3 innings and could only strike out four of the 24 batters he faced. The Athletics’ lineup and its philosophy of looking for contact has been a problem for many teams this year, especially against Houston pitchers.

And last night in Game 2 of this final series they showed it again, striking out eight times in 38 plate appearances. So there was another notable difference, with Houston nearly doubling the strikeouts with 14 in the first game, although, even so, the Athletics had 11 hits that included three home runs.

Now, after two games, the Astros’ bullpen has had to carry the weight of nine of the team’s 17 innings, allowing 11 hits, five runs—all earned—with 11 strikeouts and just one walk. While we had highlighted the work of the starters when Houston went through problems and was swept against the Tampa Bay Rays and the Atlanta Braves, we should also consider the heavy inning workload they are carrying.

Although the Astros have the advantage of advancing to the postseason if they finish tied with Texas, all these inconsistencies move them away from the level a playoff contender needs to face the difficult October stage.