OAKLAND — For the first time in 13 years, the A's have won 10 games in a row.
Oakland earned an 8-5 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Monday afternoon to push the streak into double digits.
The numbers are truly staggering. During this 10-game winning streak, the A's have outscored their opponents 78-31 (including last Sunday's suspended game in Detroit). Oakland has also outhomered its opponents 25-12.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
"It can be a relentless lineup," said manager Bob Melvin. "Top, middle, bottom. If somebody gets an opportunity to play, like Mark Canha, look what he's doing with it. We have a very deep offensive lineup when we're swinging well."
The bottom of that lineup has been on an absolute tear recently. Catcher Josh Phegley, the No. 9 hitter, has now homered in back-to-back games and three times during the winning streak while driving in 10 runs.
No. 8 hitter Ramón Laureano is on a career-high 10-game hitting streak, batting .359 with six doubles and seven runs scored during that stretch. Jurickson Profar, who typically bats seventh, has four home runs and 11 RBI in his last 10 games.
"It's huge," said third baseman Matt Chapman, who has homered in three consecutive games himself. "I feel like when the bottom of the lineup is able to get on base, score runs, and produce runs, it takes the pressure off of the top of the lineup. Instead of somebody trying to do too much, everybody kind of just takes a good at-bat and does their part."
Oakland Athletics
This winning streak seemingly came out of nowhere. Before it began, the A's had lost three games in a row and four of their last six. They were sitting in last place in the AL West at 19-25.
Less than two weeks later, Oakland is 29-25 and tied for the second Wild Card spot in the American League.
"People were freaking out about our offense and now it's like, here it is," Monday's starter Chris Bassitt said. "We have one of the best offenses in the league. We knew this was coming. It was just a matter of time."
The defense hasn't been too shabby either. The A's haven't committed a single error in their last seven games and continue to make highlight reel plays just about every day.
"It feels eerily similar to last year," said first baseman Matt Olson. "It was kind of around this time where we turned it around."
Last season ended with 97 wins and the A's first trip to the postseason in four years. It's starting to feel like that's a possibility again.