Houston ace Justin Verlander made two mistakes Ryan Suter Jersey , both resulting in home runs. The way the Astros are swinging the bats these days, it hardly mattered.

Verlander pitched five-hit ball over seven innings and the Astros jumped out to another early lead, beating the Oakland Athletics 7-3 Thursday for their eighth straight win.

Brian McCann homered for the first time in nearly a month. Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve and Josh Reddick were among five players with two hits apiece as Houston completed the three-game sweep.

”It happens fast when we’re at our best,” Astros manager AJ Hinch said. ”We can get after you and then we stay after you. We’re not going to be perfect all the time . but when we are good like this and putting up runs, we’re pretty tough.”

Evan Gattis, who set a franchise record with five RBIs in each of the first two games of the series, went 1 for 5 and didn’t drive in a run.

Beyond that, it was another in a series of impressive offensive displays from the Astros.

The winning streak is their longest since they won 11 straight May 25-June 5 last season on the way to their first World Series championship. Houston also improved to 8-1 against Oakland this season.

”It’s nice to have your team hot, you just want to be the guy to keep it going,” Verlander said. ”The run support is awesome. It’s fun to be a part of keeping the rhythm and keeping the momentum on our side.”

Khris Davis and Matt Olson homered for the A’s. It was Davis’ third home run in three consecutive at-bats after going deep in his final two plate appearances Wednesday.

Both home runs came off Verlander, who went into the day leading the majors with a 1.45 ERA.

Still, Verlander (9-2) was sharp in his first appearance against the A’s since 2016. He faced three batters over the minimum before Oakland scored twice in the seventh.

The six-time All-Star allowed three runs Tyler Ennis Jersey , struck out seven and didn’t walk a batter while earning his fifth consecutive win.

”I felt like I navigated the lineup pretty well,” Verlander said. ”Really, one not well-executed pitch I would like back and another pitch selection I would like back.”

The Astros outscored the A’s 26-11 in the series and have a 69-20 run differential in the last eight games between the two division rivals. They also got some help from Oakland third baseman Matt Chapman, who committed a pair of errors that led to a pair of unearned runs in the sixth.

Frankie Montas (3-1) gave up five earned runs and 11 hits over 5 1/3 innings. He walked four.

”That’s good team that’s swinging the bat real well right now,” Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. ”Looked like every ball he got in the middle of the plate they hit.”

ROSTER JUGGLE

RHP Trevor Cahill (Achilles strain) was placed by Oakland on the 10-day disabled list for the second time this season. RHPs Chris Bassitt and Carlos Ramirez were called up from Triple-A Nashville. Reliever Danny Coulombe was optioned down.

ONE STREAK ENDS, ANOTHER CONTINUES

Houston 3B Alex Bregman went hitless in four at-bats, ending his hitting streak at 10 games. But Bregman drew a walk to extend his on-base streak to 25 games, the second-longest active mark in the majors behind Shin-Soo Choo of Texas (28).

TRAINER’S ROOM

Astros: Bregman was back in the lineup after getting a rest day Wednesday.

Athletics: Chapman left the game with a bruised right hand that has been bothering him since spring training. He was expected to be taken for an MRI after the game. Cahill is nursing a strained right Achilles and is wearing a walking boot. He hasn’t responded to treatment and there is no timetable for his return. … Matt Joyce (lumbar strain) will take full batting practice Friday and begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Nashville on Monday.

UP NEXT

Astros: RHP Charlie Morton (7-1, 2.82 ERA) attempts to become Houston’s fourth starter with eight wins or more when he pitches in Kansas City on Friday night.

Athletics: RHP Chris Bassitt (0-1, 1.29), who was called up from Triple-A Nashville, will pitch against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday. Bassitt is taking Cahill’s spot in the rotation.

—

Wil Myers helped give the San Diego Padres an early lead and closer Brad Hand barely held onto it.

Myers homered, doubled and drove in three runs patrick mahomes authentic jersey , and rookie Joey Lucchesi threw five scoreless innings to lead San Diego to a 4-3 victory against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday night.

The Padres had to hang on after Hand got himself into trouble in the ninth and then got out of it to earn his 23rd save, thanks to some help from right fielder Hunter Renfroe.

Hand gave up two quick runs on doubles by Elias Diaz and Austin Meadows, and a triple by Gregory Polanco. The reliever got Jordy Mercer to fly out to Renfroe in shallow right field. Renfroe then caught pinch-hitter Jose Osuna’s foul ball near the seats and made a strong throw to hold Polanco at third. Hand struck out Starling Marte to end it.

”I don’t think he lacks for confidence,” Padres manager Andy Green said of Hand, San Diego’s only All-Star last year. ”He’s got those situations where he’s just got to finish his pitches better than he did tonight. He doesn’t rattle. You’ve got one of the faster runners in the game on third base with nobody out and a one-run game, and there’s not many pitchers that are getting out of that. He managed to get out of that.”

Said Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle: ”It’s a life of a closer. If you look at the numbers against him all year, he’s tough to hit. He’s been very successful. … I thought some breaking balls got left over the plate.”

Myers, limited to 19 games this season due to injuries, homered to right off Trevor Williams (6-6) with one out in the third, his second. Myers then chased the San Diegan with a two-run double to left to give the Padres a 4-0 lead with two outs in the fifth.

Myers returned June 21 after missing 47 games with a strained muscle in his side.

”He’s getting closer and closer and is looking more like himself,” Green said.

The manager was impressed with Myers using all fields.

”I feel good,” Myers said. ”It’s just one of those things where you constantly work on your approach.”

San Diego won for just the third time in 13 games.

Williams, a 2010 graduate of Rancho Bernardo High patrick mahomes stitched jersey , was trying to become the second straight local product to beat his hometown Padres. On Friday night, Joe Musgrove, a 2011 graduate of Grossmont High in suburban El Cajon, threw seven scoreless innings in a 6-3 victory.

But Williams gave up four runs and four hits in 4 2/3 innings, with four strikeouts and two walks. He also allowed an RBI grounder by Freddy Galvis in the second that brought in Christian Villanueva, who doubled and advanced on Jose Pirela’s single.

Williams walked Austin Hedges and pinch-hitter Matt Szczur with one out in the fifth. They advanced on Travis Jankowski’s sacrifice bunt ahead of Myers’ big double.

”I kind of lost my fastball command in that fifth inning, and I had to rely on my off-speed pitches,” Williams said. ”I kind of put myself in bad situations. Two walks in a row are tough. You can’t really defend walks. Wil Myers is a good hitter and he guessed right on a heater up, and did well.”

Lucchesi (4-3) won for the first time since April 28. He was making his third start since missing five weeks with a strained right hip. The left-hander allowed one hit while striking out five and walking four.

San Diego’s Matt Strahm yielded a run and two hits in the sixth.

UP NEXT

Pirates: RHP Jameson Taillon (5-6, 3.96 ERA) is 1-0 with a 1.26 ERA in two career starts against San Diego.

Padres: RHP Tyson Ross (5-5, 3.32) is scheduled for the Padres, who have won seven of his last nine starts.