By Morris Phillips

Matt Olson got into the swing of things–Home Run Derby style–by homering twice in the A’s 4-1 win over the Rangers on Sunday. But Olson wasn’t the only one swinging for the fences.

Jed Lowrie and Sean Murphy homered back-to-back in the second inning.

With Chris Bassitt on a career-best roll, winning his 10th consecutive decision with seven innings of near flawless pitching, the A’s finished the first half of the season with a pair of wins after dropping 13 of their previous 19 contests.

Not surprisingly, Olson slumped as the team did: the slugging first baseman had just one homer in his previous 18 games coming into Sunday. Now he settles into his role as an All-Star and Home Run Derby participant with 23 bombs on the season.

“In the past we’ve been a home run-hitting team,” Olson said. “It was good to get back and see some leave the yard.”

The A’s have hit 115 home runs in their 92 games thus far, putting them well above the league average of 106, and among the top ten home run hitting clubs in MLB. Still, their offense has been spotty, surprisingly more so at home in the Coliseum, but the starting pitching has been exemplary, and the bullpen has been above average despite the absence of closer Trevor Rosenthal.

“Obviously we’d like to be in first place in the division and we’re not, but hopefully we come out and whatever that second half magic is we’ve had in the past, we keep it going,” Olson said.

The A’s trail the division-leading Astros by 3 1/2 games heading into the break after leading the division for 60 days, and now trailing the Astros for 20 days.

Bassitt improved to 10-2 on the season by pitching far better than he did in his start at Houston, in which he allowed six runs but somehow avoided a loss in a game the team lost 9-6. This time, Bassitt allowed an RBI double to Nick Solak and only four hits in total.

Rangers starter Koby Allard not only needs a break, he needs a break from the A’s specifically as he lost to Oakland for the third time in the last 18 days, and has dropped five, consecutive starts to the A’s. Allard allowed all four A’s home runs, and three of the four traveled over 400 feet.

The A’s open the second half at home against Cleveland and the Angels, but the homestand only spans five games before the team hits the road for a three-city, 10-game trip.