A's have the Astros' attention: 'Good, young talent'

HOUSTON -- JP Sears and Shea Langeliers are as dependable a starting pitching-catcher duo as there is in the Majors, with Sears set to make a workhorse-like 30 starts and Langeliers on track to make 125 starts as a catcher for the A’s.

On Tuesday night, the battery flashed its top-end potential -- in addition to the durability -- in a 6-2 victory against the Astros at Minute Maid Park. Sears battled through six innings for a two-run win, and Langeliers hammered his third home run in his past four games.

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The duo’s performance -- along with a Tony Kemp homer and three shutout innings from the bullpen -- gave the A’s a series win over the Astros after Oakland entered with a 1-9 record this season vs. Houston.

“Yesterday they pitched extremely well; today they pitched extremely well,” Astros starter Justin Verlander said. “They're making good pitches, and their hitters are really locked in right now. They have some good, young talent.

“Nobody’s going to roll over in this league. It’s quite the opposite, really. Toward the end of the season, when they get some energy and some young guys are playing well, those teams are dangerous, and you see why."

Langeliers capped a three-run first inning against Verlander with a 424-foot blast to the train tracks in left field. The 25-year-old, who earned the nickname “Bangeliers” for his immense power as a prospect, hit a lull in the middle months of the season.

But Langeliers has turned it around recently. After hitting four home runs from May-July, the catcher has homered seven times in his past 18 games.

Oakland manager Mark Kotsay credited Langeliers’ persistence while working through a swing adjustment over the middle of the summer.

“The biggest thing I can compliment Shea on is that he stayed with his process, even when he wasn’t getting the results,” Kotsay said. “Now the results are starting to show up.”

Said Langeliers: “[The adjustment] is really just focused on approaching the strike zone and being aggressive toward the strike zone. Basically, just simplifying my approach, not worrying about game planning too much -- as to what they’re throwing -- and just being aggressive.”

Langeliers’ two-run drive, along with an RBI single from Ryan Noda, gifted Sears an early lead the left-hander didn’t squander.

When the Astros threatened to strike in the fifth, Sears showed off his fielding chops with a basket catch of a soft popup behind the mound, before firing to first for the double play.

“That’s probably going to be on ‘SportsCenter’ later,” Langeliers said.

After a Jeremy Peña double, Sears faced Yordan Alvarez. In a 3-1 count, Sears tossed a changeup -- just his third changeup against a left-handed hitter all year -- for a foul ball before getting a huge strikeout. And he showed some rare emotion while stepping off the mound.

Sears entered September allowing home runs at the third-highest rate in the Majors (1.98 per nine innings), with six or more homers allowed in each month. So far this month, he has zero.

“I think that mixing my changeup in early in the game is keeping guys off the fastball and slider and just feeling like they have to cover both sides of the plate,” Sears said.

Sears collected his third straight win and has a 1.59 ERA in September.

With Monday’s shutout win over the Astros against Framber Valdez and Tuesday’s win vs. Justin Verlander, the A’s are 7-4 in September and 11-9 in their past 20 games.

“These young guys, when they get here, it takes mentality, it takes time to understand what it takes to win at this level and compete every day,” Kotsay said. “I think they’re growing more accustomed to coming here and having that expectation level. They’re going out and performing to the best of their abilities right now.”