Chris Bassitt struck out 11 in his return from paternity leave, and Matt Olson had a solo home run among four hits Saturday night, leading the host Oakland Athletics to a 10-2 thumping of the Detroit Tigers.

Jurickson Profar and Matt Chapman also homered for Oakland, which moved 1 1/2 games ahead of Cleveland in the battle for the second American League wild card.

With the aid of a couple of extra days off for the birth of his daughter, Bassitt (10-5) remained unbeaten in his last seven starts. He allowed two runs and eight hits in six innings, but no walks.

The Tigers' only runs off him came in the second inning, when Harold Castro's two-out, bases-loaded single put the visitors on top 2-0.

Profar's homer, his 20th of the season, off Tigers starter Jordan Zimmermann (1-10) got Oakland within 2-1 in the last of the second, before the A's took the lead with a four-run fourth that featured a two-run triple by Marcus Semien.

Olson's homer, his 29th of the year, made it 6-2 in the fifth.

Zimmermann was pulled after five innings, charged with six runs on seven hits. He walked one and struck out two.

The A's busted the game open against the Detroit bullpen in the sixth, with Sean Murphy contributing an RBI single and Olson a two-run single to make it 9-2.

Olson finished with three RBIs and scored twice.

Chapman capped the night's scoring with a third A's solo homer, his 32nd, in the eighth.

Ramon Laureano chipped in with a single and a double for the A's, who beat the Tigers for the fifth time in six games this season.

Oakland out-hit Detroit 12-9.

Castro went 4-for-5, while Miguel Cabrera and Travis Demeritte had two hits apiece for the Tigers, who lost their 99th game of the season.

Detroit did not have an extra-base hit in the game.

--Field Level Media