With the winning run at third base and two outs in the ninth inning Saturday afternoon, the Twins had a strategy visit at the mound with closer Jhoan Duran. That allowed Astros rookie Cam Smith, who was due up next,

The Houston Astros are a season-best 11 games over .500 after stringing together five straight victories but an unexpected rotation shakeup on Monday presents a new challenge.

On the flip side, the Houston Astros, who swept the A's in a quick two-game series at the end of May, are entering this series in West Sacramento at 41-30, 4.5 games up in the AL West, and 13 games above the A's. They're also on a five-game win streak and have won eight of their last ten.

The White Sox turned the page on Andrew Vaughn last week by trading him to the Brewers for right-hander Aaron Civale. A former top prospect, Vaughn has regressed in recent years and was hitting .189 with a .531 OPS through 48 games this season. While Vaughn’s handling was likely botched in the first place, both sides are probably better off apart.

Nick Kurtz hit a solo ninth-inning homer to rally the Athletics to a 3-2 win and three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals.

The M’s on Friday got a strong start from Luis Castillo, three scoreless innings from the bullpen and the offense pounded out 16 hits on its way to seven runs. Then on Sunday it was seven shutout innings from Emerson Hancock, two easy innings from the bullpen and six runs from the offense.