A's Beat BoSox, Tie for First in AL West

OAKLAND, Calif. - The Oakland Athletics' climb from last place to the top of the American League West is complete: Thursday's win over Boston, coupled with Los Angeles's loss, pulled Oakland into a first-place tie with the Angels and set up a two-week sprint to the division title.

The A's were eight games under .500 in late May, buried 8 1/2 games out, and dismantling their rotation in the offseason for youth. Then came the usual Oakland summer — a 39-16 stretch built on rookie pitchers, on-base percentage and a general manager who never spends what he doesn't have.

"Nobody here thought we were done," said third baseman Eric Chavez, the veteran of a young club. "We knew the pitching was real. We just needed the kids to stop being kids."

Boston's loss kept its AL East lead at a half-game over the Yankees, who won again behind Jason Giambi's latest home run — his 14th since the All-Star break in a comeback season that has revived his career.

The Yankees and Red Sox meet three more times, all at Fenway Park in the season's final weekend, a series that increasingly looks like it will decide the division. The loser is not safe either: Cleveland's torrid second half has the Indians leading the wild card.

The Athletics and Angels play their final head-to-head series next week in Anaheim — a four-game set that could settle the West outright.

In the National League, San Diego continues to back into history: the Padres lead the West at barely .500, on pace to become the first division winner with a losing record, and would face St. Louis in the first round.

Oakland's run is the league's best story since the White Sox started 30-10 — and like Chicago, the A's are built on pitching nobody outside the rotation had heard of in April.