SAN FRANCISCO — The Houston Astros aren’t a very good baseball team, but in the weak American League West they have a chance to make the MLB playoffs. The Giants had a golden opportunity to sweep them this week at Oracle Park, but for the second time in three days, they fell apart late.
This time, the late run against the bullpen was accompanied by lackluster offense and poorly timed mistakes. With a 2-1 loss, they dropped to 50-71.
Adrian Houser was sharp in his return to the rotation but didn’t qualify for the win because of some sloppy defense.
The Giants took a 1-0 lead into the seventh, but a failed double play and a drop in left field allowed the Astros to tie the game. A triple from Taylor Trammell in the eighth led to a go-ahead sacrifice fly. Hous About That?Houser has made no secret of the fact that he wants to return to the rotation, and it looks like he’ll get plenty more opportunities the rest of the way. The Giants used an opener in his last appearance, but Houser had a traditional start on Wednesday and it was a good one. He allowed just two hits over six shutout innings, striking out five. Houser hit 97...