Cahill knows staying calm will help against Astros

Both because he’s in his 10th big-league season and because he’s not someone who typically overpowers hitters, the A’s

Trevor Cahill says he won’t get overamped for Saturday’s start against the first-place Astros and Dallas Keuchel.

“I’m always a guy who’s better the calmer I am,” Cahill said in the Oakland clubhouse Friday afternoon. “When I start getting upset out there, it’s usually not a good thing.

“Being a sinkerballer and a guy who uses his changeup a lot, I’ve got to relax and just pitch. … I don’t rely on anger to get outs.”

Cahill (4-2, 3.39 ERA) spent his first three seasons (2009-11) with the A’s. In his return to Oakland for 2018, the righthander has thrived at the Coliseum in seven starts (3-0, 0.99 ERA) and has stumbled on the road in seven starts (1-2, 6.62 ERA).

He can’t explain such a stark difference.

“I think it’s just baseball,” Cahill said, invoking one of the game’s most-used cliches. Said A’s manager Bob Melvin: “I think he enjoys pitching here, but I think we need a little bigger sample size maybe on the road. I haven’t seen any difference as far as his stuff goes.”

The A’s have used 13 starting pitchers this season. Only the Rays (15) have used more.

For contrast, the Astros have employed a major-league-low five starters.

Maligned for much of the season, Oakland’s rotation had posted an 8-1 record with a 1.84 ERA over the previous 14 games heading into Friday.

Melvin noted that Friday’s game marked the beginning of a stretch in which the A’s play 20 consecutive days. That means the starters figure to work more innings.

“We’re going to have to lean on them a little bit harder,” Melvin said. “We can’t go to the bullpen early every game when you play that many games in a row. The timing is very good that they’re pitching well.”

Briefly: Before Saturday’s game, the A’s will pay tribute to their 2002 team that won a then-AL record 20 consecutive games. … Wednesday afternoon’s matchup against Texas has been selected for a Facebook-only webcast. For those fans who aren’t on Facebook, there’s still the radio broadcast on 95.7 FM with Ken Korach, Vince Cotroneo and Ray Fosse.