The Athletics picked up a convincing win over the Astros in Game 2, and in doing so they kept control of a series that could decide who comes out of the AL West with a playoff bid.
That matters because the Astros and Rangers are still locked in a tight race for the division crown and the division’s lone postseason spot. The AL West has been the weakest division in baseball, and the Athletics’ second-half collapse only made that mess harder to swallow. Even so, they’re still shaping how this race finishes.
Jonah Heim was one of the biggest reasons they came out on top. He finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run, and his RBI was his first in 50 at-bats.
It was a useful night in the box score, but the broader picture around Heim is hard to ignore. He is not expected to be part of the Athletics next season, and this game won’t change that.
When Shea Langeliers was expected to miss the rest of the season, Heim became the player everyone had to watch. Since July 24, the last game Langeliers played before his injury, Heim has hit .176 with a .539 OPS.
He has only 11 RBIs and four home runs in that span. That’s a rough stretch by any standard.
Brian Serven’s production during that same window makes the point even sharper. In 22 fewer games, Serven hit five home runs and drove in 14 runs.
He also batted .176, but he was the more productive hitter overall. With Heim set to become a free agent at the end of the series, it would not be surprising if the Athletics move on from him, even after a solid performance here.
On the mound, Jacob Lopez gave the Athletics exactly the kind of outing they needed after three straight shaky starts. He worked 6.0 innings, gave up one run and only two hits, and while he struck out four and walked two, it was still one of his better performances of the season.
That kind of response mattered. If Lopez had kept trending the wrong way, the Athletics would have been in a difficult spot.
There are already major questions about next year’s rotation, and Lopez was supposed to be one of the pieces they could lean on. This start cooled some of that concern and gave him something to build from.
The bullpen picture also got a boost from Hogan Harris. There has been plenty of discussion lately about where he fits alongside Elvis Alvarado, and while Alvarado still looks like a long-term option, Harris has clearly earned the right to handle this role the rest of the way and maybe beyond. This game only strengthened that case.
In a one-run game, Harris was asked to finish it. He allowed a walk, but the inning ended on a double play, and that was enough. For all the debate around the Athletics’ relief options, this outing showed Harris is the most trustworthy choice in the biggest spots, even if he doesn’t look overpowering doing it.
In Other News...
Athletics Face Two Costly Roster Decisions This Offseason
The Athletics are already looking ahead to the offseason after another difficult year, and two familiar names are sitting at the center of their roster math. Jeff McNeil has been productive since the break, but keeping him at second base would come with a hefty price tag, while Jonah Heims season has followed a far more uneven path after an encouraging start.
McNeils value on the field is obvious enough, yet Oakland has reason to weigh cheaper options if it wants to spread its resources around more efficiently. Heim, meanwhile, offered a glimpse of stability early before his production tailed off, and the As do have alternatives lined up if they decide to move in a different direction behind the plate. [Read more 🡒]
Jacob Lopez Just Gave The Athletics A Real 2027 Reason For Hope
Jacob Lopez ended his 2026 season on a note the Athletics can actually build on, delivering six innings of one-run ball in a win over the Astros. It was the kind of finish that mattered beyond one game, especially for a pitcher who had been recalled from Triple-A in July and looked much more settled after rejoining the big league staff.
Lopezs season still came with the usual growing pains of a young arm, as his year finished with a 5.47 ERA over 27 games after a strong first stretch back. Even so, both Lopez and Mark Kotsay sounded encouraged by where he stands heading into the winter, and the next step may depend as much on his offseason work as on anything he did on the mound in 2026. [Read more 🡒]
Denzel Clarke Gives The As One Big Outfield Dilemma
With the Athletics out of playoff contention, the final stretch has shifted into something closer to an extended audition, with Oakland sorting through position battles and trying to see which players might fit into next seasons plans. Recent performances from Jeff McNeil, Alika Williams, Donovan Walton and Denzel Clarke have all mattered in that evaluation, but Clarke has drawn a different kind of attention because his defense keeps standing out even as the offense remains a work in progress.
That leaves Oakland with a familiar late-season puzzle in the outfield, where talent, handedness and long-term fit all have to line up at once. Clarke still has a case because of what he brings with the glove, but the As also want a mix that gives them both left- and right-handed bats, and that balance could shape how the group is built once the offseason planning really starts to take hold. [Read more 🡒]