Despite having a six-game home winning streak come to an end Sunday, the Houston Astros saw plenty to like in the performance of Chas McCormick, who posted his third multi-hit game since being recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land. The Astros (77-66), who will host the Oakland Athletics (62-82) in a three-game series starting Tuesday, scuffled with outfield production during the 79 games All-Star right fielder Kyle Tucker was away with a shin injury. McCormick was central to those struggles, and was even optioned for a brief spell, but he's batting .409 in six games since his return to the roster last week, including a three-hit game Sunday. "He's starting to believe that it's in there, and that's what you want," Astros manager Joe Espada said.

Meanwhile, long-suffering but resilient A's fans enjoyed one of their final parking-lot tailgate parties before the team abandons the East Bay for a city of easy marks ready to part with plenty of taxpayer cash (see: California Golden Seals, 1976; Oakland Raiders, 1981 and 2019; Golden State Warriors, 2019). A little personal baseball background will help with this story, so here we go.

A low-budget T-Bird commemoration of the 1974 Oakland A's… and an amazing Country Squire.

Mason Miller's impact this season has gone beyond the mound – and the Athletics' closer is getting recognized for it. On Monday, Major League Baseball named Miller as one of the AL West nominees for the 2024 Roberto Clemente Award. It is handed to a player who represents the sport and Clemente himself on and off the field through character, community presence and philanthropic efforts. Clemente, who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates for his entire career, was the first Latin American player to be inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame.