OAKLAND -- Home runs have fueled much of the A’s early-season success. But it was a rare showing of small ball that provided a key run in Thursday’s 6-4 win over the Rangers.

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Mike Fiers allowed a two-run homer to Anderson Tejeda to trim Oakland’s lead to one run in the seventh, but the A’s manufactured their way to an important insurance run in the bottom half of the frame. Stephen Piscotty followed a leadoff single from Khris Davis by executing a perfect sacrifice bunt to move Davis over to second. Franklin Barreto then entered the game to pinch-run for Davis at second and scored on Sean Murphy’s single up the middle to extend the A’s lead.

A’s manager Bob Melvin said the decision to bunt was purely Piscotty’s, who saw an opening when the Rangers’ infield shifted to the left side.

“He was trying to push it in the hole between first and second because nobody was there. Then Murph got the big hit,” Melvin said. “We won by two, but the difference between two and one, psychology-wise, going into the last inning, is huge. Especially with the top of their order coming up.”

Davis’ leadoff single was another sign that a resurgence was imminent. Following a rough start to the season -- he went 1-for-21 through his first six games -- Davis is now 4-for-6 with a home run and four RBIs over his past two contests, with Thursday marking the slugger’s second consecutive two-hit performance.

“He’s looked really good. Last three games, it’s been really good swings,” Melvin said. “He’s pulling some balls now. He’s not late on them. I know he feels good about his swing right now, and so do I.”

Liam Hendriks made quick work of the top three hitters in Texas' lineup, slamming the door with a scoreless ninth to record his fourth save of the season. The win marked Oakland’s sixth in a row, which stands as the longest streak in the American League.

The streak has also come despite the offense getting off to a slow start in most categories other than homers. The A’s entered Thursday’s game with the fifth-lowest team batting average (.206) in baseball.

“We’re getting better every day. Guys are starting to click and figure it out,” Fiers said. “We’re not 100 percent and still winning, so that’s great news for us. We need to stay on this roll that we’re on.”

With a record of 9-4, the A’s matched their best record through the first 13 games of a season (1992, 2010, '13, '14) over the past 30 years. They reached the postseason in three of those years.

“What is a 'start' in a 60-game season? It’s probably 15 games or so,” Melvin said. “At this point, we’re pretty happy with our record, especially after being one game under .500 after seven games. I was trying to figure out what a start looks like in a season like this. I think these 13 games are a pretty good indicator of how we’re starting out.”

Much has been made of the A’s heavy reliance on the homer. They entered Thursday’s game with a record of 8-1 in games during which they’ve homered, and they are 0-3 in homerless contests. While there was a home run involved Thursday -- Matt Olson continued his mustachioed magic with his third long ball in two games on a solo shot in the second off of Mike Minor -- five of Oakland’s six runs scored on either a single or a sacrifice fly.

The A’s bullpen played perhaps the biggest part in securing the three-game sweep of the Rangers. With three more scoreless innings in relief of Fiers on Thursday, A’s relievers finished the series allowing just one run over 12 2/3 innings. For the season, the A’s relief corps holds a 1.80 ERA over 55 innings.

“It’s been the entire roster and the entire bullpen to this point,” Melvin said. “We’ve got contributions up and down our lineup. Last year, we always talked about winning games without the homer. We’ve done that now.”

Astros on deck
Awaiting the A’s on Friday night is a visit from the rival Astros in the first showdown between the clubs in 2020. The three-game series will also mark the first time the teams will meet in the aftermath of Houston’s sign-stealing scandal.

The scandal will not provide any more motivation for the A’s. They have enough just based on their goal of wresting away the division supremacy from Houston, which has won the division each of the past three seasons, to capture the American League West crown this year for the first time since 2013.

"Everybody has heard the story. I think everyone is moving on from that,” Olson said. “They’ve been the team the past few years. I think inside our clubhouse, we look at ourselves as the best team in the division. But until we go and take it, it is theirs."