OAKLAND -- The A’s, like most teams in MLB, can go as far as their starting rotation will take them. Consistent deep outings helped them reach the postseason in 2018. Those outings, however, have been few and far between this year, but it’s becoming a trend again over the past week.

Frankie Montas continued the recent strong stretch of A’s pitching with an outing of at least six innings for a fourth consecutive game. He kept the Indians in check on Friday by allowing only two runs over six innings, before Matt Chapman provided an early explosion on 510 Fireworks night with a walk-off solo homer off Brad Hand in the 12th for a 4-3 victory.

Despite an overpowering fastball that highlights his arsenal of pitches, Montas has been enjoying a successful campaign due to his ability to keep the ball on the ground, entering the night with a 51.7 percent groundball rate, good for 12th highest among all MLB starters. A double-play ball helped him limit the damage to two runs in the second inning before settling in.

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There’s been no more consistent A’s starter this year than Montas, who has allowed three earned runs or fewer in each of his eight starts, and is now carrying a 2.78 ERA. His ability to pitch out of trouble, like in the second inning on Friday, shows how much he’s matured from the days when he was just a young flamethrower.

“Years before, he had kind of a tough time stopping an inning or dealing with adversity,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “Now he’s just a completely different guy. You can see the toughness and confidence in him. Even though he gave up a couple of runs early, I think he expected to go out and do what he did.”

So what changed after that second inning? Montas was leery of a powerful Indians lineup in the early goings, throwing most of his fastballs on the outer part of the zone. After the second, though, he made a commitment to switch to the inside.

“The first two innings, I felt like I wasn’t attacking hitters,” Montas said. “I threw a lot of fastballs away and they were looking for that. I started throwing more in and attacking, and that led to better results.”

Even though Chapman provided the final heroics, he knew outings like the one Montas turned in are the kind that enable him to be in that position late in games.

“He keeps getting better,” Chapman said of Montas. “I know he’s a fiery guy and gets emotional, but he’s able to keep composed. I’m really impressed by how he’s able to have a tough inning and just shake it off to keep us in ballgames for a long time.”

Missing bats

Montas settled in after the second inning by generating a higher number of swings and misses than he’s been accustomed to this year.

Of his 64 strikes on the night, 11 came on swing-and-misses. All seven of his strikeouts, which ties a career best, were swinging, with five coming on his slider. He entered the night with swinging strike percentage of 10.8, but against a tough Cleveland lineup, he showed a willingness to be aggressive and attack hitters throughout the night.

“My splitter and slider started feeling better,” Montas said of his swing-and-miss stuff. “That helped me out a lot.”

A first for Chapman

There aren’t many firsts left for Chapman coming off a season that featured a Gold Glove Award and Platinum Glove Award, but his walk-off blast was his 10th home run of the year and first career game-winning RBI.

“I thought I would never do it,” Chapman said. “I didn’t even know what to do around the bases. I was pumped up. That’s about as much emotion as you’ll get from me on the field.”

After getting ahead in the count 2-0 against Hand, Chapman took the next two pitches for strikes, before laying off Hand’s signature slider for a ball to work the count full. Though Chapman was looking for a fastball, he knew there was a high likelihood of Hand throwing the slider again. Hand indeed threw him the backdoor slider, and Chapman connected for a lining shot over the left-field wall.

“I was just trying to hit something hard and not do too much,” Chapman said. “That’s when I give myself a better chance to drive balls.”

The home run was the first of the season allowed by Hand, who was dominant entering the night with scoreless outings in 15 of his first 17 appearances.

“This is their closer on the mound and he’s never predictable when he throws,” Melvin said. “My guess is you might see one or two more of those from him.”

Plenty of celebrating

The A’s have been doing a lot of celebrating on the field as of late. After Mike Fiers threw a no-hitter to kick off the homestand, Friday was their second walk-off win in the past three games.

“It feels good to get some of those clutch hits,” Chapman said. “We’ve been playing a lot of extra-inning games lately and grinding a little bit. To be able to come out on top of those games is huge. Last year, when we were going well, we were winning these close ballgames.”

After a 1-8 road trip, their worst of eight games since 2011, the A’s are now 3-1 on their current six-game homestand.

“We needed that,” Montas said. “The road trip was a little tough, but we came back home and continue fighting.”

Laureano finds his power

Ramón Laureano blasted a solo home run off Neil Ramirez in the sixth to put the A’s ahead by one run. It was his fourth homer of the year, and first since April 12. The A’s offense as a whole had entered the night with the lowest home run total (16) in the American League over that time.

“We expect to hit some home runs,” Melvin said. “I think with a night like this, maybe we come around with that.”

What a relief

Lou Trivino surrendered a game-tying sacrifice fly to Francisco Lindor in the seventh, but he, Ryan Buchter, Blake Treinen and Joakim Soria kept the Indians off the board the rest of the night. Through the first four games of their homestand, A’s relievers have combined to allow just one run over 14 1/3 innings.

“The bullpen is amazing,” Montas said. “They always have our back, and I always feel comfortable leaving the game in their hands.”