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A's on the way 

CLEVELAND — Look out, because here come the A’s. Again. 

The Oakland Athletics, who each year seem to get better as the season goes on, are closer to first place in the AL West than they’ve been in four months. 

“Maybe some people will start thinking about the Oakland A’s again,” said their manager, Art Howe. “We’ve been the stepchild in this race.” 

Tim Hudson pitched 8 1-3 innings to remain unbeaten in August and Eric Chavez homered twice as the A’s won their sixth straight game Monday night, 8-1 over the Cleveland Indians. 

Oakland’s win, coupled with Seattle’s loss at Detroit, moved the A’s within one game of the Anaheim Angels, who lead Seattle by two percentage points. 

“I kind of like the position we’re in,” said Hudson, “sneaking up on guys and then we’re breathing down their throats.” 

Hudson meant necks, of course. It was one of his few mistakes of the night. 

Hudson (10-9) allowed six hits and one run but was lifted just two outs away from his third complete game this season. He improved to 3-0 with a 1.21 ERA this month, and beat the Indians for the first time in six career starts. 

“Right now, he’s really locked in,” Howe said. “That was vintage Hudson.” 

The A’s, who haven’t been within one game of first since April 13, are 24-11 in their last 35 road games. 

Chavez hit a two-run homer in the first inning off Danys Baez (9-10) and added a three-run shot in the ninth off Mark Wohlers for Oakland, which improved to 13-4 in August. Only the idle Arizona Diamondbacks, also 13-4 this month, have been as hot. 

Oakland has scored 24 runs in its last three games and the A’s haven’t trailed once during the 54 innings of their current winning streak. 

“The pitchers have carried us,” Chavez said. “It’s about time we started doing something for them. It’s nice to have everything working right now.” 

Jim Thome hit his 38th homer for the Indians, and Cleveland rookie Coco Crisp had two hits and made a diving catch in center field during his debut at Jacobs Field. 

Hudson came in 0-2 with a 10.08 ERA in five previous career starts against Cleveland. Most of those outings, though, came against a very different Indians’ lineup than the one he faced Monday night. 

Hudson walked none, struck out six and was never in trouble. Oakland’s outfielders only recorded two putouts as Hudson’s breaking pitches had the Indians hammering the ball into the ground. 

“He has great movement and you don’t get too many good looks at his pitches,” Thome said. “He threw a couple balls up and over the plate to me and that is unusual.” 

Oakland’s first three hits off Baez were for extra bases with Chavez’s 27th homer giving the A’s a 3-0 lead in the first. 

Ray Durham led off with a double to right, and one out later, Miguel Tejada doubled off the wall in left-center. Batting in the cleanup spot for the eighth straight game, Chavez then lined his homer into the A’s bullpen in right. 

Baez got through the next two innings unscathed, but the A’s got him for two more runs in the fourth on Ramon Hernandez’s broken-bat RBI single and Durham’s grounder. 

“I threw a couple of fastballs that were mistakes,” Baez said. “That’s not good against that team.” 

Thome homered with one out in the fourth, lining an 0-1 pitch over the wall in right-center. 

Chavez made it 8-1 in the ninth, connecting for his 28th homer, a towering shot to right. 

Notes: The Indians are sending RHP Ryan Drese to Triple-A Buffalo and calling up RHP Ricardo Rodriguez, who was acquired from Los Angeles in the Paul Shuey trade. Rodriguez will take Drese’s spot in the starting rotation and is scheduled to make his major league debut Wednesday night against the A’s. ... Since the 2000 All-Star break, the A’s are 125-62 — baseball’s best record. ... Tejada has played in 395 straight games, the longest active streak in the majors. ... Zydrunas Ilgauskas, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 7-foot-3 center, threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Typical basketball player, he bounced it. ... Chavez has four multihomer games this season and seven in his career. ... Indians RHP Bob Wickman, who is out for the season and waiting to have “Tommy John” elbow surgery, said he has talked to several players who have had the procedure. And what has he learned? “It’s a battle,” he said. “But you can come back from it. You just have to work hard and keep your fingers crossed.”