Canha hits walk-off HR

If the A’s win three of four in their season-ending series in Texas, they’ll finish the second half with a winning record.

For a team that was 39-50 in the first half, that’s called progress.

The A’s completed their home schedule Wednesday with a 6-5 victory over the Mariners, courtesy of Mark Canha’s gameending home run. It was Oakland’s eighth walk-off homer of the season, and only the 1995 Indians, with nine, had more.

“Fun way to end it,” Canha said. “It’s been an up-and-down season for us as a team and for me personally, and it’s nice to get some good closure on the home schedule.”

The A’s have won eight of 10 and are 15-10 in September and 34-35 since the All-Star break.

“For a lot of reasons, we wanted to win today,” manager Bob Melvin said. “We’ve had a good thing going here recently. We’ve been consistent at home all year.”

The A’s have one of the league’s elite home records at 46-35 but one of the lousiest on the road, 27-50.

In his final 2017 start, Opening Night starter Kendall Graveman gave up three runs in six innings and exited with a 5-3 lead. His season, abbreviated by a shoulder injury, ended 6-4 with a 4.19 ERA in 19 starts.

“The last month, month and a half, has been positive for me going into the offseason,” Graveman said. “Toward the end of the year, I thought I pitched more than just beat people with some stuff. I used the changeup and breaking ball a bit, something I’m still trying to learn when and how to use it.”

To prevent a Seattle threegame sweep, the A’s needed to overcome Robinson Cano’s game-tying, two-run homer in the eighth. Their defense kept the score tied in the ninth as shortstop Marcus Semien took a grounder and threw out pinch-runner Gordon Beckham at third, and first baseman Ryon Healy snagged a wicked grounder to end the inning.

Canha’s walk-off homer was the second of his career. Briefly: Matt Joyce tied a team record as the first Athletic with three doubles since Coco Crisp on Aug. 14, 2015. … The A’s have played a season-high nine straight errorless games . ... They clinched their first winning month since April 2016.