Back With A's, Trevor Cahill Finds Home Sweet Home in Oakland

OAKLAND - Find someone who loves you as much as Trevor Cahill loves pitching at the Coliseum.

Following Saturday's one-hit gem, Cahill's home ERA is a league-leading 0.85. Away from the Coliseum, that number skyrockets to 6.62.

"Being at home, (I'm) just comfortable," Cahill said. "I've made a lot of starts here in my career. Just everything from the bullpen to warming up before the game and going out there first to try to set the tone. You have the ball. You're throwing the first pitch when you're at home."

Cahill tossed seven shutout innings Saturday, allowing just two base runners -- one on an infield single, the other a walk -- with seven strikeouts.

"He dominated us," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. "He was clearly doing whatever he wanted to with the ball. He could cut it, sink it, threw changeups. When they got the lead, he pitched pretty aggressively and we chased. He controlled the game."

In eight home starts this season, Cahill has allowed a total of five earned runs on 28 hits in 52 2/3 innings. He has notched 57 strikeouts, compared to 12 walks, a ratio of almost 5-to-1.

"I don't know that I've ever seen Trevor pitch better than he did today, even the old version," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "This version, at times, is better than the old version. He's got a changeup, he's got a cutter, he's got more weapons to go to. When he's throwing strikes, the ball is not in the zone very long. It's sinking, the changeup is a couple feet short of that, and then the curveball and cutter on top of it. It was really good."

Cahill's mastery over the Astros continued a tremendous stretch by Oakland's starting rotation. Over their last 16 games, A's starters have gone 9-1 with a 1.79 ERA. Combine that with one of the best bullpens in baseball, and it's not hard to see why the A's are the hottest team in baseball.

"I think my curveball was a lot better [than last start]," Cahill said. "I was able to throw it for strikes early on, and then I was able to put that extra gear on the two-strike ones, the putaway pitches."

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