A-plus effort vaults Oakland atop West

Stellar pitching, eight doubles sink Astros

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Oakland Athletics were an average team two months ago, a dozen games behind the Houston Astros and closer to the bottom of the American League West than the top.

Well, look at the A’s now. Trevor Cahill pitched one-hit ball for seven shutout innings as Oakland kept up its unlikely turnaround, tying Houston for the division lead by beating the Astros 7-1 Saturday.

“It’s been a nice run for sure,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said.

Khris Davis, Matt Olson, Josh Phegley and Stephen Piscotty each hit two of Oakland’s team record-tying eight doubles as the A’s won for the sixth time in seven games.

The Athletics trailed the defending World Series champion Astros by 12 games following play on June 18, having just reached the .500 mark, and were 10 out on July 10.

Houston has lost seven of eight and dropped 12 of 19 since owning a six-game lead on July 24. The next day, reigning AL MVP Jose Altuve went on the disabled list with knee trouble, and the star second baseman still is out.

Cahill (5-2) allowed only an infield single by Yuli Gurriel in the second inning. The right-hander struck out seven, walked one and retired 14 straight batters during one stretch.

“I was able to attack the zone a little more and got some quick outs,” Cahill said. “The offense came through and made it a lot easier.”

Cahill, who was on the disabled list in June because of an Achilles injury, improved to 4-0 over his past six starts, his longest win streak in five years. He also has won 10 decisions in a row at the Coliseum.

“He dominated us,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “He was clearly doing whatever he wanted with the ball. When they got the lead, he pitched pretty aggressively, and we chased. He controlled the game.”

Tony Kemp homered in the ninth for Houston’s only other hit.

Phegley had three RBIs and Davis drove in two.

Dallas Keuchel (9-10) gave up five runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings. It’s the most runs he has allowed since giving up six against Toronto on June 27, a span of nine starts.

The A’s matched their best record after 123 games since 1992 and are 25 games over .500 for the first time since Aug. 14, 2014. They’re 15-1-2 over their previous 18 series.

Ben Margot The Associated Press Josh Phegley follows through on the first of his two run-scoring doubles Saturday in front of Astros catcher Max Stassi in the sixth inning of the Athletics’ 7-1 win.