OAKLAND, Calif. — Friday marked Albert Suárez’s first MLB start in the Bay Area since September 2016.

Suárez started 12 games that season for the Giants, including five across the bay at Oracle Park in San Francisco. His baseball career has since taken him on an odyssey — from Japan to Korea to Baltimore — and it led him back to the area it all started eight years ago.

It had been 2,847 days since Suárez last started a game in the Bay Area when he took the mound Friday for the Orioles at Oakland Coliseum. He achieved something he never did as a starter with the Giants all those years ago: A win.

Suárez delivered once again with six innings of two-run ball to lead the Orioles to a 3-2 win over the Athletics. The quality start is the 34-year-old’s eighth this season in 11 outings as he’s emerged as a key member of Baltimore’s rotation with a 2.48 ERA and one of the best stories in baseball.

The win maintains the Orioles’ standing as the best team in the American League with a 56-32 record. Baltimore is a season-high three games ahead of New York (54-36) atop the AL East as the Yankees lost again Friday, their 14th defeat in 18 games.

Suárez, who won two home games in relief in 2016 but none of his five as a starter, followed up his bounce-back start last week — six scoreless innings after two rough starts — with another solid one Friday. The right-hander allowed a solo homer in his first and last innings but was rarely hit hard in between.

Baltimore’s bats continued their recent cold stretch, but they provided just enough offense for Suárez and the Orioles’ bullpen. Gunnar Henderson generated a run on his own in the first — smacking a leadoff single, advancing to second on an Adley Rutschman groundout, stealing third and scoring on a throwing error by Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers.

After Miguel Andujar tied the game for Oakland (33-57) in the second, Austin Hays recorded his first of three hits with an RBI double down the left field line to score Jordan Westburg. Athletics starter Hogan Harris later walked Rutschman with the bases loaded for Baltimore’s third and final run.

Hays went 3 for 4 for his second three-hit game of the season. The 2023 All-Star began his season in a brutal slump but has emerged since as a reliable contributor, especially against left-handed pitchers. He entered Friday with a stellar .340/.389/.480 slash line — good for an .869 OPS — versus southpaws.

The Athletics nearly tied the game in the eight off Yennier Cano by getting a runner on third with one out, but the sinkerballer escaped his own jam. Closer Craig Kimbrel kept up his recent run of dominance with a three-up, three-down ninth.