The Oakland Athletics beat the Seattle Mariners 5-2 at the O.co Coliseum on Sunday. It was a dramatic win for the A's.
They don't want to leave any stone unturned to win the American League West Division title this time. Last time they won it in 2006. Soon after their victory the A's began watching the game between the Rangers and the Angels playing the second game of their doubleheader.
The Athletics are still eyeing the AL West title with three more games remaining. And they're doing this against all odds. The injury-ridden team, with a lot of changes happening and even a drug suspension for ace pitcher Bartolo Colon, has stood their ground quite admirably.
"Oh, we're pumped," third baseman Josh Donaldson said.
In the eighth inning it was Yoenis Cespedes who hit a go-ahead homer to move the Athletics a win closer to their first playoff berth in six years.
Cespedes also has an RBI triple to his credit while Brandon Moss had a sacrifice fly in the first inning. The Athletics (91-68) are now only two games behind Rangers (93-66).
The Rangers will travel to the Coliseum to play the Athletics in the final three games which starts Monday.
Closer Grant Balfour said: "It's our choice. If we go out there and win, good things are going to happen. The way we're playing right now I feel like we've got some good momentum going. We want to keep it rolling all the way through October."
For the second AL wild card, the Athletics lead the Angels (88-71) by three games.
The A's, however, will have to wait at least one more day if they want to secure a playoff berth. The Los Angeles Angels kept themselves in contention by rallying in the ninth inning against the Rangers to win the opener of the doubleheader.
The A's manager Bob Melvin said: "We're just going to try to win tomorrow. I think we're best suited to just do that and not worry about all the different variables. We're in the dugout today and all of a sudden the Angels score went up and it's so emotional this time of year.
"Your thoughts can go back and forth based on one scoreboard change. It is exciting, it is fun. It's a bit of a rollercoaster at times."
Meanwhile,the Mariners aren't very happy about their recent string of defeats.
"It's definitely been pretty crazy," Shawn Kelly, the Mariners' relief pitcher said. "I've never seen anything like it. You don't like to lose but to keep losing in this fashion is not fun."
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