Right-hander Zack Greinke earned his 200th career victory, and the visiting Houston Astros avoided a series sweep with a 4-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics. Alex Bregman went 4-for-4 and belted his 30th home run of the season, a three-run shot in the fifth inning that erased a 1-0 deficit and allowed the Astros, who had lost the first three games of the series, to snap a five-game losing streak. Greinke (13-4) held the A's to one run and four hits in seven innings en route to his third consecutive win since joining the Astros in a trade last month.

Zack Greinke reached a career milestone as the Houston Astros defeated the Oakland Athletics 4-1 in MLB action. Astros ace Greinke posted his 200th career win as he helped Houston topped Oakland on Sunday. Just two other active pitchers (CC Sabathia and Justin Verlander) have reached that mark.

After earning his 200th win, Zack Greinke hopes he's on his way to even bigger achievements with the Houston Astros this season. Greinke reached the milestone with seven smooth innings Sunday, pitching the first-place Astros past the Oakland Athletics 4-1 to avoid a four-game sweep. Alex Bregman had a three-run homer among his four hits to back Greinke, who won his third straight start since joining Houston from the Arizona Diamondbacks at the July 31 trade deadline to make the Astros a World Series favorite.

The Houston Astros placed infielder Aledmys Diaz on the 10-day injured list Sunday after he suffered dizziness on Saturday that led to an overnight stay in the hospital. The 29-year-old Diaz was dizzy and light-headed on the team bus prior to Saturday's game against the Oakland Athletics, leading to the hospitalization. "We're going to take every precaution imaginable to make sure he's OK," Astros manager A.J. Hinch told reporters before Sunday's series finale in Oakland.

Since the arrival of Corban Joseph, Profar hasn't started a game. The utility man has struggled at the plate this season, slashing . but does have 15 home runs.

Newcomer Zack Greinke hopes to continue a personal winning streak while ending his team's skid when the right-hander leads the visiting Houston Astros up against the Oakland Athletics in the finale of a four-game series on Sunday afternoon. The A's have used a variety of means to sweep the first three games of the series, riding five home runs to a 7-6 victory on Thursday night, extra-inning small-ball to pull out a 3-2 win Friday, and station-to-station hitting to grind out an 8-4 triumph on Saturday. With four straight wins, coupled with Houston's five consecutive losses, the second-place A's (71-52) have closed within 6 1/2 games of the first-place Astros (78-46) in the American League West.

Chris Bassitt believes the Oakland Athletics' struggles against the Houston Astros are due in part to the perception that the 2017 World Series championship are unbeatable. Matt Chapman doubled among his three hits and Mark Canha had two hits and three RBIs to back Bassitt's six solid innings in the Athletics' 8-4 victory over the Astros. Matt Olson and Josh Phegley each had two hits for Oakland, which finished with 13 hits - just two for extra bases.

Mark Canha contributed run-scoring hits to five- and three-run uprisings, helping the host Oakland Athletics run away from the Houston Astros for an 8-4 victory on Saturday afternoon. The second-place Athletics won their fourth straight and made it three in a row over the first-place Astros, winning by more than one run for the first time in the series. After Houston had taken a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning, the A's rebounded immediately against Astros right-hander Rogelio Armenteros (1-1) with four straight hits and a bases-loaded walk by Matt Chapman to tie the score.

And the good news for the A's gets better as catcher Josh Phegley returns to the lineup after being on the injured list with a sore thumb. The addition will have him hitting ninth, two spots after designated hitter Khris Davis who drops down two spots in the lineup. The A's will send Chris Bassitt to the mound to face Rogelio Armenteros who was promoted from Triple-A Round Rock to get the start in place of injured Gerrit Cole.

The visiting Houston Astros and Oakland Athletics are expected to trot out new looks Saturday afternoon when the American League West front-runners continue their four-game series. The A's used seven homers and a walk-off single by Robbie Grossman to trim two games from their 9 1/2-game deficit in two nights with a pair of one-run decisions, 7-6 and 3-2. Being handed the task of keeping the A's in the ballpark Saturday in the wake of a 13-inning game in which the Astros used six relievers will be right-hander Rogelio Armenteros (1-0, 1.93 ERA), who will be promoted from Triple-A Round Rock to get the start in place of injured Gerrit Cole.

The Oakland Athletics have been pretty good this season when hitting home runs, and added to their total with a pair of solo shots off Houston ace Justin Verlander. Manager Bob Melvin's team showed it can be pretty effective playing small ball, too. Robbie Grossman singled home the winning run with two outs in the 13th inning to give Oakland a 3-2 victory over the Astros on Friday night.

Robbie Grossman singled home the winning run with two outs in the 13th inning to give the Oakland Athletics a 3-2 victory over the Houston Astros on Friday night. Mark Canha had three hits, including a homer, and Marcus Semien also went deep as Oakland beat the AL West leaders for the second consecutive night to move within a half-game of Tampa Bay for the league's second wild card. Houston lost its fourth straight and wasted the latest strong performance by ace Justin Verlander.

For starters, when Oakland A's designated hitter Khris Davis was first scouted when he was a seventh-round draft pick by the Milwaukee Brewers out of Cal State Fullerton in 2009, they weren't too keen on his base-running and fielding ability. "He never ranked higher than 13th on the Brewers' Top Prospects list, but that one tool got him to the big leagues and resulted in 133 homers in his first three seasons in Oakland before he tailed off this year," Callis and Rosenbaum write.

Two veteran pitchers who have had trouble keeping the ball in the park this season seek to cool hot-hitting opponents when the Houston Astros host the Oakland Athletics on Friday night for the second time in their four-game series. The second-place A's managed to chip into their large deficit in the American League West with a 7-6 win Thursday night in a series opener that featured 10 homers, five by each team. The Astros retained an 8 1/2-game cushion in the division despite losing a game in which the home runs outnumbered the non-homer hits 10-5.

Matt Chapman capped a home run derby with his second of the game leading off the eighth inning Thursday night, sending the host Oakland Athletics to a 7-6 victory over the Houston Astros in the opener of a four-game series featuring the top two teams in the American League West. Matt Olson also had a two-homer game, and Corban Joseph added a fifth for the A's, who moved within 8 1/2 games of the first-place Astros with just the third win in their 12 head-to-head games this season. The Astros matched the A's in homers with five, with Carlos Correa and Michael Brantley belting a pair apiece, while Alex Bregman had one.

Matt Chapman capped a home run derby with his second of the game leading off the eighth inning Thursday night, sending the host Oakland Athletics to a 7-6 victory over the Houston Astros in the opener of a four-game series pitting the top two teams in the American League West. Matt Olson also had a two-homer game and Corban Joseph added a fifth for the A's, who moved within 8 1/2 games of the first-place Astros with just the third win in their 12 head-to-head games this season. The Astros matched the A's in homers with five, with Carlos Correa and Michael Brantley belting a pair apiece, while Alex Bregman had one.

With their battle for an American League playoff spot in full force despite a short-handed rotation for much of this season, the Oakland A's agreed on a minor league contract with veteran right-hander Matt Harvey. The A's have three prominent starting pitchers -- Marco Estrada, Daniel Gossett and Sean Manaea -- on the injured list, with Frankie Montas in the midst of an 80-game suspension for violating the league's performance-enhancing drug policy. Harvey, 30, has been a victim of injury himself this season, having missed seven weeks because of an upper back strain before the Los Angeles Angels designated him for assignment on July 19 shortly after his return.

With their battle for an American League playoff spot in full force despite a short-handed rotation for much of this season, the Oakland A's agreed on a minor league contract with veteran right-hander Matt Harvey, according to multiple reports Wednesday. The A's have three prominent starting pitchers -- Marco Estrada, Daniel Gossett and Sean Manaea -- on the injured list, with Frankie Montas in the midst of an 80-game suspension for violating the league's performance-enhancing drug policy. Harvey, 30, has been a victim of injury himself this season, having missed seven weeks because of an upper back strain before the Los Angeles Angels designated him for assignment on July 19 shortly after his return.

Matt Chapman hit two home runs, and Robbie Grossman added a two-run shot to back the seven-inning shutout pitching of right-hander Homer Bailey on Wednesday afternoon as the visiting Oakland Athletics earned a 9-5 victory over the San Francisco Giants. The clubs split their two-game interleague series and will meet in a two-game rematch next weekend across the San Francisco Bay in Oakland. About 15 hours after they had stranded the potential tying run at third base to end a 3-2 loss to the Giants, the A's started fast, going up 2-0 on a first-inning solo homer by Chapman and a two-out, run-scoring infield single by Bailey in the second.

That trend continued Wednesday afternoon as Bailey spun seven innings of shutout ball against the Giants, allowing just two hits and a walk with seven strikeouts, leading Oakland to a 9-5 win at Oracle Park. "I think it was his best stuff of the year," said A's manager Bob Melvin. "He had a great split, located his fastball really well, but really could throw his split in any count.