Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Oakland, Houston tied atop AL West
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 AL West than the top. Well, look at the A’s now. Trevor Cahill pitched one-hit ball for seven shutout innings and the Athletics kept up their 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 still 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 is still out.
Cahill (5-2) allowed
only an infield single by Yuli Gurriel in the second inning. The righthander 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 last six starts, his longest winning 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 52/3 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 now 15-1-2 over their previous 18 series dating to June 15.
Houston’s Alex Bregman walked to lead off the seventh, extending his on-base streak to 38 consecutive road games, the longest such active streak in the majors.
Oakland’s Matt Chapman went 0 for 4, ending his 14-game hitting streak and 30-game on-base streak.
YANKEES, 11, BLUE JAYS 6 Giancarlo Stanton hit one of New York’s four homers, Luis Severino struck out eight while pitching into the sixth inning and the Yankees beat Toronto. Didi Gregorius, Miguel Andujar and Greg Bird also connected as New York moved 31 games over .500, matching a season high. Andujar had three hits and three RBIs and Gregorius also drove in three runs. Stanton belted a long drive for the second straight day, this time a 412-foot solo shot with two out in the fourth for his 32nd homer of the season.
ORIOLES 4, INDIANS 2 Alex Cobb pitched a five-hitter for his first complete game in five years, and Baltimore snapped Cleveland’s six-game win streak. Cobb (4-15) struck out three and walked one in his fourth career complete game. The righthander threw 100 pitches, 69 for strikes, while going the distance for the first time since Aug. 31, 2013, for Tampa Bay against Oakland.
TIGERS 7, TWINS 5 Mikie Mahtook hit a
tiebreaking three-run homer in the fifth inning, rookie Ryan Carpenter earned his first big league win and Detroit beat Minnesota. Joe Mauer, Tyler Austin, Miguel Sano and Mitch Garver homered for the Twins, who had won four straight.
ROYALS 3, WHITE SOX 1 Alex Gordon homered and Jorge Bonifacio had a go-ahead RBI single in the decisive sixth inning, and Kansas City rallied past the Chicago White Sox. Rookie Brad Keller pitched five solid innings for the Royals, who won for the third time in their past nine games. The White Sox had their win streak stopped at three.
RED SOX 5, RAYS 2 David Price pitched seven solid innings, J.D. Martinez hit his major league-leading 38th homer after Boston jumped to a quick lead and the Red Sox beat Tampa Bay for their 17th victory in 20 games. Price (13-6) gave up two runs on five hits, striking out eight, walking two and hitting a batter. He is 3-0 with a 1.35 ERA in his five starts since the All-Star break.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
METS 3, PHILLIES 1 Jacob DeGrom pitched his first complete game of the season and lowered his major league-leading ERA to 1.71, leading the New York Mets over Philadelphia. It appeared deGrom’s day might be cut short due to a 41-minute rain delay that began in the middle of the fourth. Pitching coach Dave Eiland put a 45-minute limit on returning.
PIRATES 3, CUBS 1 Joe Musgrove cruised through seven innings and Pittsburgh snapped a five-game losing streak. Musgrove (5-7) allowed one run on five hits with seven strikeouts. He has gone seven innings and surrendered two runs or fewer in four of his past five starts. Pittsburgh won for the second time in eight games. The firstplace Cubs had their three-game winning streak snapped after 1-0 victories in the first two games of the series.
MARLINS 7, NATIONALS 5 (10) Isaac Galloway hit a two-run single in the 10th inning, JT Riddle homered and drove in four runs and Miami beat Washington. Following two singles and a fielder’s-choice grounder, the Nationals intentionally walked Riddle to load the bases with two outs in the 10th. Galloway delivered with a hit to center off Koda Glover (0-2).
ROCKIES 5, BRAVES 3 (10) Colorado struck for three runs with two outs in the ninth inning, then DJ LeMahieu homered over the center field wall in the 10th in a win over Atlanta.
Fill-in closer A.J. Minter came in with a 3-0 lead to begin the ninth and retired the first two Colorado batters. But the Rockies followed with four straight hits off him, including a two-run double by Ian Desmond and a tying single by pinch-hitter Gerardo Parra.
REDS 7, GIANTS 1 Matt Harvey took a nohit try into the sixth inning, Jose Peraza and Dilson Herrera backed him with home runs and Cincinnati dominated Madison Bumgarner and San Francisco. Scooter Gennett had three hits for the second straight night and scored three runs, Peraza had two hits and scored twice and Brandon Dixon drove in two runs with a bases-loaded double. Cincinnati sent the Giants to their third straight loss after winning three in a row.
CARDINALS 7, BREWERS 2 Marcell Ozuna homered and Miles Mikolas tossed six effective innings to push the St. Louis Cardinals into the second wild-card spot in the NL with a victory over Milwaukee. St. Louis moved a half-game ahead of Milwaukee and within four of the first-place Chicago Cubs in the NL Central. The Cardinals, who are a half-game behind wild card-leading Philadelphia, have won 10 of their last 11 and captured their seventh straight series after winning the opener of the three-game set on Friday. The seven-series winning streak is the longest since St. Louis won eight in a row from April 10-May 7, 2015.