Peña homers in return to Astros lineup, Houston beats struggling Oakland 6-3

MICHAEL WAGAMAN
Associated Press

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Astros’ shortstop Jeremy Peña hit a two-run home run in his first at-bat since getting a planned day off, backing another solid outing from Framber Valdez as Houston sent the tumbling Oakland Athletics to their 10th consecutive loss with a 6-3 win. The A’s, off to a historically bad start at 10-44, are on pace for 132 losses – two shy of the major league record held by the 1899 Cleveland Spiders. Oakland was managed by bench coach Darren Bush while Mark Kotsay attended his daughter’s high school graduation.