ARCHIVE April 3, 2026
April 3, 2026 · AL West

Houston Astros vs Oakland Athletics

April 3, 2026Sutter Health ParkClear 73°F · 3 mph, Out To RF
AWAY
Houston Astros
5-3
4
vs
HOME
Oakland Athletics
2-5
11

Starting pitchers

AWAY · HOU
Cristian Javier
Cristian Javier
IP 3.2
HOME · ATH
Jeffrey Springs
Jeffrey Springs
IP 6

Lineups

AWAY · HOU
  1. 1 Jeremy Peña SS
  2. 2 Yordan Alvarez DH
  3. 3 Jose Altuve 2B
  4. 4 Carlos Correa 3B
  5. 5 Christian Walker 1B
  6. 6 Cam Smith RF
  7. 7 Jake Meyers CF
  8. 8 Yainer Diaz C
  9. 9 Brice Matthews LF
HOME · ATH
  1. 1 Nick Kurtz 1B
  2. 2 Shea Langeliers C
  3. 3 Tyler Soderstrom LF
  4. 4 Brent Rooker DH
  5. 5 Jacob Wilson SS
  6. 6 Lawrence Butler RF
  7. 7 Max Muncy 3B
  8. 8 Jeff McNeil 2B
  9. 9 Denzel Clarke CF

Box score

  123456789 R
HOU 001000102 4
ATH 013610000 11

Manager comparison

Both managers grade D+ / C- entering this matchup.

AWAY · HOU
Joe Espada
D+ Lineup 2.8 R Bunts 0.7 R IBBs 0.4 R
HOME · ATH
Mark Kotsay
C- Lineup 2.6 R Bunts 1.1 R IBBs 1.1 R

Recent form

AWAY · HOU
5-4 W1 -2 run diff
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HOME · ATH
5-5 W2 -1 run diff
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Tactical analysis

RunsLeft separates manager decisions from player execution from game variance. Each card below is the same three-number framework that drives the share cards on the SPA replay page.

AWAY · Houston Astros
  • Manager lineup cost +0.31 R/G Optimal arrangement projects 3.87 vs actual lineup 3.56
  • Player execution +0.44 R/G Players exceeded the lineup's 3.56 projection by 0.44 (scored 4)
  • Game variance +0.13 R/G Total game outcome vs optimal expectation

Vázquez 0-for-3 batting 2nd

HOME · Oakland Athletics
  • Manager lineup cost +0.03 R/G Optimal arrangement projects 4.96 vs actual lineup 4.93
  • Player execution +6.07 R/G Players exceeded the lineup's 4.93 projection by 6.07 (scored 11)
  • Game variance +6.04 R/G Total game outcome vs optimal expectation

Muncy HR from the 7-hole

COUNTERFACTUAL

Optimal lineups projected 3.9 – 5.0 — actual was 4 – 11.

Keep reading

How RunsLeft analyzes games

Standard content on this page comes from the MLB Stats API. Tactical analysis comes from a per-game Monte Carlo: 10,000 simulated games against the opposing starter's ERA, both for the actual lineup the manager wrote and for the optimal arrangement of those nine players. The three numbers — manager cost, player execution, game variance — separate which part of the result was the lineup, the players, or the dice.

Read the full methodology.