A’s pitcher Brett Anderson wonders if Astros were stealing signs

Oakland A’s pitcher Brett Anderson had a streak of impressive starts come to an end on Monday night when he gave up five runs in the third inning against the Houston Astros, and he couldn’t help but wonder if there was some relaying of signs going on.

Following the game, which the A’s lost 11-4 after jumping out to a 4-0 lead, Anderson told reporters he felt the Astros had better at-bats against him with runners on second base.

“I don’t know if I was tipping pitches with guys at second or something but they seemed to be laying off good pitches and on certain pitches,” Anderson said, via Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. “So I’ve got to look at video, re-evaluate that.”

Houston did much of its damage with a series of doubles in the third, so that’s probably what Anderson was referring to. He did, however, admit that he didn’t have a good feel for his slider after allowing just two runs over his previous four starts.

Anderson was shelled early in the season but seems to have figured some things out lately. He’s lowered his ERA from 6.08 to 4.02 in a span of just over a month, and the A’s are hoping most of his struggles are behind him with the playoffs approaching.

This isn’t the first time this season that the Astros have been accused of funny business, though relaying signs from second base is simply part of the game. If Houston was able to figure out which pitches Anderson was throwing, the A’s will have to adjust going forward.