DETROIT -- The A's are cruising, albeit under the radar, following a wildly successful 10-game road swing that culminated with a four-game sweep against the Tigers at Comerica Park on Thursday afternoon.
By staging a 4-2 victory behind lefty Sean Manaea in the series finale, the A's put together an 8-2 trip that featured a rush of resilient comebacks, pushing them six games over .500, at 44-38.

On Monday, they rallied to erase a three-run deficit in the eighth; Tuesday, they used their Motown magic to fight back from six runs down to keep on course. Climbing out of a two-run hole on Thursday, then, was a cinch for these A's.
"Obviously, that's the difference between going on a 6-4 road trip or 8-2," second baseman Chad Pinder said. "If we lay down there and let those guys keep rolling over us, it's a whole different road trip and we're having a different conversation."
The A's have won 10 of their past 12 to at least warrant attention from outsiders who deemed them an afterthought in March; though they haven't necessarily moved the needle in the American League West race, Oakland is the sixth-best team in the AL and is suddenly within shouting distance of a Wild Card spot, sitting 7 games out.
"It's tough to win a four-game series," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "We've done it twice on the road this year. That's not easy to do. Overall, just a great trip, and it felt like we might have left one on the table in Chicago. It was impressive, and so many times we came back, too. You get down today, you're trying to sweep a team, and the next thing you know, we have another big inning. So these guys just continue to grind on it."
Manaea tossed six solid innings, his lone mistake coming in the opening frame when Nicholas Castellanos tagged him for a two-run homer. He yielded just four other hits, walked one and fanned two in the 87-pitch outing, lowering his ERA to 3.38 -- including a 2.88 ERA over his past five starts.
Counterpart Michael Fulmer was done in by a string of singles. The A's recorded five of them in the third inning -- including run-scoring knocks from Mark Canha, Jed Lowrie and Khris Davis -- to pull ahead with a 3-2 lead.

Pinder offered some breathing room with an RBI double in the fourth, and the bullpen did its part with three scoreless innings from Emilio Pagan, Lou Trivino and Blake Treinen, who picked up his 20th save.
"We're just playing like a team," said Manaea, the only member of the Opening Day rotation who has made every start. "Everyone's doing their thing."

The A's are 24-18 on the road this season, compared to 20-20 at home. They have five games on deck at the Coliseum -- three against the Indians, two opposite the Padres -- before the club departs again, marking the start of a crucial stretch that will help the A's determine if they should consider themselves buyers at the Trade Deadline for the first time since 2014.
They sure are acting the part right now.
"Everybody's contributing," Melvin said, "and there's a great feeling because of that."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
After Castellanos' home run, Manaea set down eight in a row and 15 of 16, before loading the bases with two outs in the sixth and escaping it with a strikeout of Niko Goodrum to cap his day.
"I was kind of starting to think a little bit too much, and after the home run, I told myself, 'Just attack hitters and get outs,'" Manaea said. "It calmed me down a little bit, and I was just able to make pitches."

SOUND SMART
The A's are riding a nine-game winning streak against the Tigers, including seven in a row at Comerica Park.
HE SAID IT
"He probably left three or four home runs on the table here in this series. I told him he's a stupid hitter. But he's squaring balls up, he's staying in the middle of the diamond. When he gets on a roll offensively, he's as powerful as anyone we have. It's nice to mix him in not just against some lefties but against some righties too, because there are times when we're going to need him." -- Melvin on Pinder, who collected two hits Thursday after being robbed of extra bases on multiple occasions this week

UP NEXT
The A's will return to Oakland for a five-game homestand, beginning with three against the Indians. Right-hander Paul Blackburn (1-2, 8.83 ERA) gets the ball in Friday's 7:05 p.m. PT opener at the Coliseum, while Cleveland turns to righty Trevor Bauer (7-5, 2.44 ERA).