Oakland win streak at seven; AL West deficit at 1 ⁄2 games
The A’s entered Thursday with the AL’s highest OPS in August. They scored 27 runs in three games at Cleveland and hold a 63-28 scoring edge in nine games this month.
“I think it’s just playing to our potential after a down period,” manager Bob Melvin said. “We’re starting to see some good at-bats really from everybody.”
The next series, at Texas, would seem to be an opportunity. The A’s swept the lastplace Rangers in three games last weekend in Oakland. Texas has lost eight of nine. The A’s own a 44-17 record against teams with below-.500 records.
Their pitching staff has allowed more than three runs just twice in their past 12 games, a stretch including three extra-inning wins. It had plenty more wiggle room Thursday. Bassitt held a fiverun lead by the fourth inning that doubled by the fifth. Seven A’s players drove in multiple runs.
“I think coming off the AllStar break, we kind of got off to a slow start and a lot of us were just scuffling a little bit,” third baseman Matt Chapman said. “But it seems like (the trade additions) came in and gave us a little bit of a boost, and we’re starting to play some really good baseball.
“And I think we have that feeling of no matter what the score is, or what inning it is. we feel like we can find a way to win that game. There’s no panic.”
Oakland led 5-0 after four innings and doubled that lead in the fifth to erase any drama.
Chapman drew five walks, matching an Oakland record, and scored three runs. Mitch Moreland, drawing a start in the cleanup spot, hit two solo home runs. Starling Marte had an RBI double and run-scoring single before exiting in the seventh because of the score. His replacement, Stephen Piscotty, reached base twice and had a two-run single.
Tony Kemp had three hits and scored three runs after entering in the second inning.
All of that offense backed Bassitt, who lowered his ERA to 3.06 and picked up his ALleading 12th win. Bassitt scattered three hits to improve to 8-0 in 14 starts on the road this season. His nine-game road winning streak dating to 2020 matches Bob Welch’s team record in the Oakland era. The A’s are 16-4 this season against AL Central teams.
“We won a couple of tough games (in Cleveland), and then today we score a bunch of runs and we just kind of keep that momentum going,” Chapman said. “It seems like everybody’s starting to kind of hit stride and it’s going to be a fun last 40-something games we have.”