A's top Astros for biggest West lead since '13

A homestand that began with the A’s shaking off some rust from a long layoff caused by a positive COVID-19 test ended with them holding their largest lead in the American League West in almost seven years.

The A’s knew their best shot at overtaking the Astros for the division crown in 2020 would come in head-to-head matchups. With a 3-1 victory on Thursday at the Coliseum, the A’s completed their season series against Houston by going 7-3. Now a season-high 6 1/2 games above the Astros in the AL West, the A’s have their largest lead in the division since Sept. 25, 2013, which was also a 6 1/2-game lead.

• Box score

“Any time you have these guys coming in, you know it’s going to be a tough series,” manager Bob Melvin said. “On top of it, being five games, there could be a big swing one way or the other. We did enough to take four of the five, which is huge. Getting through that lineup with the type of pitching we had throughout the series was phenomenal. It’s hard to do, but this is what we were looking for.”

Sean Manaea continued his upward trend, tossing five perfect innings and stifling the Astros’ offense with seven innings of one-run ball. Matt Olson provided the majority of run support with his team-leading 12th home run of the season -- a go-ahead two-run blast off Jose Urquidy in the sixth -- and the A’s shrunk their magic number to win the AL West to 10.

“I think we’re happy with the way this series went. But at the same time, we know the job is not over,” outfielder Mark Canha said. “We still have a hectic schedule in front of us, and this next week is going to be a tough stretch of a lot of baseball in a short amount of time. There’s a mindset that we just have to keep going and keep our head down.”

Now comes crunch time for the A’s, who are seeking their first division title since 2013. Finishing the season by playing three doubleheaders over the next 17 days, they embark on a six-day road trip that will see them play eight games over that stretch in three cities. Here’s a look at some takeaways as they gear up for the final weeks of the regular season.

Rotation starting to click

Entering Monday’s series opener against the Astros, Oakland starters had completed seven innings just three times all season. Following Manaea’s sharp seven-inning performance -- his longest outing of the year -- the A’s have now had their starting pitcher complete seven innings three times in the past four days. The uptick in workload is an encouraging trend, as the club will need to count on deeper outings from its starters in order to keep a fresh bullpen, which entered Thursday with the lowest ERA (2.05) in the Majors.

Manaea, who earned the start for the A’s in the AL Wild Card Game in 2019, is pitching like he’s ready to open a Wild Card Series. After limiting the Astros to one run on two hits while striking out four over seven innings, he is 4-0 with a 1.98 ERA over his last five starts.

Manaea is known to keep it loose, with an easygoing demeanor on days that he starts, but Melvin sensed a bit of extra motivation from the lefty on Thursday, perhaps knowing what a win could do for the A’s in the division race.

“He was really focused today,” Melvin said. “He’s always in a great mood, and you can never really tell when it’s his day to pitch. But he was a little bit different today. I think he was really looking forward to trying to take this series and finish it off strong. He had a little bit more of an edge to him than normal.”

Manaea is also developing quite the chemistry with rookie catcher Jonah Heim. Since Heim was recalled from the A’s alternate training site on Aug. 25, the two have been paired as batterymates in each of Manaea’s last three starts. Over that time (17 innings), Manaea has a 1.59 ERA and has issued only one walk.

MVP ... Liam Hendriks?

Liam Hendriks consistently shutting the door on opponents has become routine, but it still should not go unnoticed.

Hendriks notched his 12th save of the year (tied for the MLB lead) with a perfect ninth on Thursday; the A’s are now 20-0 this season in games in which he has pitched. Entering the day with the highest fWAR (1.0) among Major League relievers, Hendriks has converted each of his last 12 save opportunities, the longest streak of his career.

Hendriks has done this with a heavy workload; Thursday’s appearance marked the third time he’s pitched three days in a row. Of the A’s who could be considered the AL Most Valuable Player, Hendriks should be near the top of the list.

Laureano’s revenge

The last time the A’s and Astros met for a series at the Coliseum, Ramón Laureano was upset with himself after losing his cool following a hit-by-pitch, which led to a suspension. The center fielder kept his composure this time around and was a major contributor, following his walk-off hit from Wednesday’s victory with a spectacular play on a ball that only had a 25 percent likelihood of being caught to end Thursday’s game.

In 10 games this season against the Astros -- his former club -- Laureano went 11-for-35 with three doubles, a triple, home run and four RBIs. They A’s could use his hot bat in the absence of Matt Chapman, who missed the entire series against Houston with tendinitis in his right hip.