OAKLAND, Calif. _ Kendall Graveman stretched his winning streak to five games with seven strong innings on a cool Coliseum night that saw him throw a season-high 112 pitches over seven innings in the Oakland A's 7-4 win over Houston.
Graveman, who began the season 1-6, is now back at .500 at 6-6. He has won five of his last nine starts. He fell behind early 1-0 and 2-1, but the A's offense produced a five-run fourth inning, and he was able to help out a weary A's bullpen by going seven innings in which he allowed seven hits and three runs, two of them earned.
His last two wins have come against the Astros. He beat them 3-2 in an eight-inning start in Houston on July 9, his last appearance before the All-Star break.
All seven of the A's runs came after there were two out and no one on base, and five of those came in the fourth, when the A's bats and the Astros' inability to throw strikes led to a five-run inning that put the game solidly under Oakland's control.
Stephen Vogt opened with a double, Marcus Semien walked and Yonder Alonso, who had doubled home Oakland's first run in the second inning, singled home two runs for a 3-2 lead against Houston starter Mike Fiers. Rookie Ryon Healy hit an RBI double, and Fiers was done after walking Coco Crisp.
Fiers' relief help was no help whatsoever. Michael Feliz walked the first three men he faced, letting two runs score on bases-loaded walks as the A's lead expanded to 6-2. Only a fine running catch up against the right field fence by George Springer denied Khris Davis a three-run double.
Davis was denied that time, but batting with two out in the seventh, the A's homer leader hit his fourth bomb in as many games, a solo shot to right off reliever Scott Feldman for a 7-3 lead in front of a smallish crowd of 10,651.
The Astros got a run off reliever Ryan Dull in the eighth when Carlos Correa's RBI double ended Dull's streak of 11.1 scoreless innings, but Dull came back to keep the Oakland lead at three runs.
Ryan Madson pitch a scoreless ninth inning for his 20th save. Oakland has won three of four games since the All-Star break to improve to 41-52.
