Vogt, A’s wrap up shaky first half by beating Astros

Royals beat slumping Astros 6-5

By KRISTIE RIEKEN

HOUSTON (AP) — Stephen Vogt hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning and the Oakland Athletics wrapped up a shaky first half by beating the Houston Astros 4-3.

Ramón Laureano homered for the A’s, who went into the All-Star break at 32-61, the worst record in the AL.

This is their first season under manager Mark Kotsay. Kyle Tucker and Jeremy Peña homered for Houston, which holds the second-best record in the AL at 59-32. Manager Dusty Baker’s club won the pennant last year but lost the World Series to Atlanta.