<p>OAKLAND, Calif. — MartÃn Maldonado homered and drove in three runs, helping the Houston Astros beat the Oakland 8-4 on Thursday to move ahead of the Athletics for the AL West lead.</p>
<p>Alex Bregman, Michael Brantley and Yuli Gurriel also had run-scoring hits for the Astros in the rubber match of a three-game series. Houston is 21-9 against division opponents, including 7-3 against Oakland, and at 26-19 has sole possession of the division lead for the first time since before play on April 9.</p>
<p>Mark Canha, Tony Kemp and Seth Brown homered for the A’s (26-18).</p>
<p>Luis Garcia (2-3) won his second straight start, limiting the Athletics to two runs and three hits in five innings with seven strikeouts.</p>
<p>Cole Irvin (3-5) struggled for Oakland, allowing five runs and eight hits in five innings.</p>
<p>Athletics manager Bob Melvin was ejected by plate umpire Alan Porter following the fifth inning for arguing balls and strikes.</p>
<p>Canha homered leading off the first, and Houston took a a 3-1 lead in the third, sparked by Maldonado’s RBI double.</p>
<p>Kemp’ hit his first homer with the Athletics in the bottom half and doubled and walked.</p>
<p>Maldonado’s two-run homer boosted the lead to 5-2 in the fourth. Jed Lowrie singled home Matt Olson in the sixth, but José Altuve singled in the seventh inning for a 14-game hitting streak. An run-scoring double by Bregman, who went 3 for 4 with two RBIs, boosted the lead to 7-3.</p>
<p>TRAINER’S ROOM</p>
<p>Astros: RHP José Urquidy, on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation, threw off a mound and is expected to go on a minor league rehab assignment soon. … LHP Blake Taylor (sprained ankle) will head out on a rehab assignment in the next couple of days.</p>
<p>Athletics: LHP Jesús Luzardo (fractured pinkie) threw a 30-pitch bullpen session on Thursday. He will need to throw at least one more bullpen before he faces hitters. … C Sean Murphy returned to the lineup after leaving Wednesday’s game early for precautionary reasons. Murphy was hit by a series of foul balls but had no concussion symptoms.</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>Astros: RHP Tyler Ivey is to make his major league debut as Houston opens a three-game series at Texas on Friday. The 25-year-old was a third-round pick in the 2017 amateur draft.</p>
<p>Athletics: RHP James Kaprielian (1-0, 1.80 ERA) makes his second big league start Friday night as the A’s begin a three-game series in Anaheim against the Angels.</p>
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