Machado homers again, but O’s fall to A’s

OAKLAND — Kendall Graveman threw seven strong innings, Stephen Vogt snapped out of a slump with two RBIs, and the A’s held on to beat the Orioles, 3-2, on Monday night to snap a three-game losing streak at the Coliseum.

The loss dropped Baltimore (63-48) into a tie for first place in the American League East with the Blue Jays after Toronto beat the Rays, 7-5. Oakland (49-63) won for just the second time in its past 10 games, and did so behind the suddenly reliable Graveman, who won his career-high eighth game.

The sinkerballer allowed one run on six hits over seven innings and is 7-1 over his past 13 starts. Baltimore mounted one serious threat against the righty, scoring a run in the third on a sacrifice fly by Manny Machado after loading the bases with one out, but Chris Davis grounded out to end the inning. Graveman surrendered only two singles over his last four innings, and neither runner advanced.

“This is only the second time I’ve ever seen him,” Orioles center fielder Adam Jones said. “But I saw him pound the strike zone with that sinker. We had opportunities. We just didn’t come through.”

Baltimore starter Kevin Gausman’s only misstep through the first five innings was a solo homer by Vogt in the fourth. He walked Vogt to begin the sixth and Yonder Alonso later singled, setting up Billy Butler’s two-out RBI single to make it 2-1. The A’s had been 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position, following a weekend series against the Cubs in which they scored three runs in three games.

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“Today was big for me,” Vogt said. “It’s been a couple weeks since I felt like I’ve really driven the ball or felt comfortable at the plate.”

Vogt added an RBI single in the seventh to give the A’s a 3-1 lead. Machado blasted a homer (446 feet per Statcast™) …

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