After Luzardo's gem, A's walk it off in 9th

OAKLAND -- Through the early part of his arrival to the Major Leagues, Jesús Luzardo developed into more of a ground-ball pitcher. But with his electric stuff, it was only a matter of time before the strikeouts began to pile up for the left-hander, and that transformation seems to be taking place.

In the longest outing of his career thus far, Luzardo showed off his premium stuff as he notched a career-high-tying seven strikeouts over seven innings to set up the A’s 3-2 victory over the Astros on Wednesday night at the Coliseum, which ended on Ramón Laureano's walk-off single in the ninth. Oakland now has a season-high 5 1/2-game lead over Houston in the American League West.

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Luzardo appears to be blossoming right before the A’s eyes. The 22-year-old has registered seven punchouts in three of his past four starts, and he leads all Major League rookies with 45 strikeouts this season.

“He’s going to strike people out,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “The one thing maybe working against him right now is he’s getting behind in counts and having to work his way back. He’s going to have plenty of games where he has double-digit strikeouts. It’s about getting ahead and getting hitters down in counts.

“It’s a lot tougher to strike people out when you’re behind in the count. But his stuff is good enough to come back and keep it off the barrel of the bat.”

Luzardo agreed with Melvin’s assessment of falling behind in the count to hitters, adding that he’s been focusing on that over his past few outings. The lefty had hit a bit of a rough patch prior to Wednesday’s superb outing, posting a 5.57 ERA over his past four starts.

“I’ve been telling myself since my last start, and the one before, that I need to get ahead and throw strikes,” Luzardo said. “I have to find that balance of picking and choosing. I just have to attack the zone with all three pitches.”

Attack Luzardo did. Of his 27 changeups thrown, 14 were swinging strikes and seven were called strikes. It was also his putaway pitch on three of his seven strikeouts.

More important for Luzardo, though, was the resilience he displayed. After George Springer crushed a leadoff homer to begin the game, Luzardo settled in and allowed only three hits the rest of the way, one of which was another solo home run to Yuli Gurriel in the sixth that accounted for the only other run he allowed.

“For a young guy, when the leadoff guy hits a home run, that can bite you a little bit,” Melvin said. “But he got better as the game went along. Had a mix of three pitches that are all good. Even when you sit on a pitch like his fastball, he’s got enough movement to get results. He’s a very confident kid. To come back after a leadoff home run and give up only four hits, that’s a terrific outing.”

Not only was Luzardo's seven-inning outing the longest of his brief Major League career, but it was the deepest he's gone in a start in the pros. He threw 100 pitches, ending with a strikeout of Martín Maldonado on a 95-mph heater.

“I’m glad I was able to go out and keep us in the game for seven innings,” Luzardo said. “That’s our job as starters, and I’ve learned a lot picking up and feeding off the older guys in our rotation. I’m seeing what I have to do the third and fourth times around the lineup.”

Luzardo’s strong performance also came on Roberto Clemente Day. As a Latino player born in Peru to Venezuelan parents, Luzardo looks to Clemente as a role model and even wore special white cleats on the field with a portrait of Clemente as a tribute.

“It was an honor and a blessing,” Luzardo said. “Just knowing the history behind him and all his accomplishments on and off the field, he’s someone I want to be like, off the field especially. Being able to pitch on this day was big for me.”

Laureano’s walk-off hit, which was set up by Sean Murphy’s walk and Tony Kemp's hit-by-pitch to lead off the ninth, capped a late comeback that was sparked by Tommy La Stella’s game-tying two-run double in the seventh. The win secured the A’s a series victory over the Astros, as they’ve taken three of the first four games in this five-game set.

Dating back to Aug. 15, 2019, the A’s are 12-5 against the Astros, including 9-2 at the Coliseum.

“We take the same mentality every series, but when it’s against the Astros, you can tell our game goes a little higher,” Luzardo said. “I think we’re in a great spot. Our mentality is great, and the vibe in the clubhouse is great. We’re just trying to keep this thing going.”