By taking three of four in Minnesota, the A’s have put some distance between themselves and the Mariners, while staying hot on the heels of the Astros entering Monday’s start of a three-game series in Houston. They are now five games clear of Seattle for the second wild-card spot and remain 1 1/2 games back of the Astros.



After shaking off a loss in the series opener to the Twins, which had an atypically rocky start from Trevor Cahill and Blake Treinen’s second home run allowed all season, the A’s smashed their way to a series win. Over the following three games, the A’s allowed five runs and hit eight home runs. Since the All-Star break, incredibly, they have managed roughly one home run to every two runs allowed (from any source).



Their challenge will be to continue that offensive barrage into a crucial series against the Astros, with the division at stake. Houston’s pitchers have been among the best at preventing home runs. While...