The A’s blazed through August with only the occasional spark from Matt Olson. Their smooth-swinging first baseman was batting .169 when the month ended. It was suggested their lineup would benefit when Olson, eventually, came around.
That appears to be happening — and at an opportune time. With their lineup at less than full strength due to injuries, Olson was the linchpin of an early scoring outburst as the A’s won 10-6 over the host Rangers on Friday, growing their AL West lead to seven games and improving the league’s best record to 28-15.
The A’s could hardly have plotted a better start to their gantlet of eight games in six days in three cities. Four batters in, they led 4-0. Texas opener Luis Garcia walked Tommy La Stella, Marcus Semien and Ramón Laureano before reaching a full count to Olson, who arced a fastball into the right-field seats.
It was Olson’s team-leading 13th home run of the season, seven of which have given the A’s a lead — he entered the day tied for the majors’ lead in that category. Olson added a run-scoring single an inning later that gave him 36 RBIs, tied for fourth-most in the AL.
“You look at his average, it’s not indicative of how he’s played this year,” manager Bob Melvin said of Olson. “He’s been through some rough stretches like everybody. But you look at the RBIs, you look at everything else but the average, and it would suggest he’s having a really good year.”
After Oakland’s recent five-day layoff, Olson said he used the break to mentally move on from his first half and tried to “feel my hands more, loosen up a little bit” while hitting. In nine games since, Olson is 10-for-31 with three home runs and 14 RBIs.
Missing Matt Chapman (hip tendinitis) and right fielder Stephen Piscotty (wrist soreness), the A’s held a 7-1 lead after two innings Friday. Catcher Sean Murphy provided a jolt with his third home run in six games — projected by MLB’s Statcast tracker at 464 feet, the longest hit by an A’s player this season. La Stella, who was on deck, said: “It was kind of like watching a firework go off.”
“Like Johnny Bench,” starter Mike Fiers said of Murphy, who has reached base safely in 12 of 22 plate appearances his past six games. “I guess (Astros manager) Dusty Baker made a comment about he’s not Johnny Bench. But he definitely could be if you throw him strikes.”
Robbie Grossman added a solo homer in the sixth as the A’s improved to 25-8 when they hit a home run. Seven A’s hitters scored and five drove in at least one run.
“Matty put us up big with that swing and we just kind of cruised the rest of the way,” said La Stella. “It’s a really good lineup. To think right now we’re without Matt Chapman and we’re still driving in runs, putting together great ABs — one-through-nine we’re strong and with the pitching being the way it’s been we like where we’re at.”
Fiers entered the game allowing a .350 average after his first time through the lineup but got better in the middle innings Friday. He’d retired eight in a row before Elvis Andrus’ home run leading off the seventh and departed after walking the next two batters, both of whom scored. Fiers said he “felt really good” but was “disappointed the way it ended” and felt slightly “winded” in the seventh.
Fiers threw a season-high 100 pitches and is the only A’s starter who has not finished seven innings this season. The A’s withstood a late push by the Rangers, who pulled within three on Rougned Odor’s two-run homer in the eighth.
Matt Kawahara covers the A’s for The San Francisco Chronicle. Email: mkawahara@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @matthewkawahara
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