A’s Tied for AL West Lead With 7-1 Win Over Astros

The Athletics, far behind in the AL West standings earlier this summer, tied Houston for the division lead by beating the Astros 7-1 Saturday.

OAKLAND, Calif. — Trevor Cahill pitched one-hit ball for seven shutout innings and the Oakland Athletics, far behind in the AL West standings earlier this summer, tied Houston for the division lead by beating the Astros 7-1 Saturday.

Khris Davis, Matt Olson, Josh Phegley and Stephen Piscotty each hit two of Oakland’s team record-tying doubles as the A’s won for the sixth time in seven games. The Athletics trailed the defending World Series champion Astros by 11 ½ games on June 24 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, and the star second baseman is still out.

Cahill (5-2) allowed only an infield single by Yuli Gurriel in the second inning. The right-hander struck out seven, walked one and retired 14 straight batters during one stretch.

Cahill 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.

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 on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings. It’s the most runs he’s 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 inning, 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.