Thursday was terrible for Athletics fans that bothered to watch the other games around the American League. The Cleveland Indians swept their doubleheader against the Minnesota Twins and the New York Yankees walked off against the Tampa Bay Rays. Only the loss from the Kansas City Royals could be seen as a plus, dragging another team toward the muck that is the seven-team American League Wild Card race.
Wins | Losses | GB | 9/11 |
OAK
Magic Number
|
Head-to-head
W-L
|
Notes | |
OAK | 81 | 65 | +1.0 | Loss | |||
DET | 80 | 66 | -- | Idle | 16 | 2-5 | M# for home field in the AL Wild Card |
SEA | 79 | 66 | 0.5 | Idle | 16 | 7-9 | M# for the second Wild Card (3 to play HTH) |
TOR | 76 | 69 | 3.5 | Idle | 13 | 4-3 | |
CLE | 76 | 69 | 3.5 | W, W | 13 | 4-2 | |
NYY | 75 | 69 | 4.0 | Win | 13 | 4-2 | |
TB | 70 | 77 | 10.5 | Loss | 4 | 4-2 | |
CWS | 66 | 80 | 14.0 | Win | 2 | 3-4 | |
HOU | 65 | 81 | 15.0 | Idle | 1 | 11-8 | |
BOS | 64 | 83 | 16.5 | Win | Elim. | 4-3 | |
MIN | 62 | 84 | 18.0 | L, L | Elim. | 6-1 | |
TEX | 54 | 92 | 26.0 | Loss | Elim. | 7-5 | 7 to play HTH |
Division Leaders | |||||||
LAA | 90 | 55 | +10.0 | Win | 8-8 | 3 to play HTH | |
BAL | 86 | 59 | +10.0 | Idle | 4-2 | ||
KC | 80 | 64 | +0.5 | Loss | 17 | 2-5 |
Friday's games to watch in the AL Wild Card race
The Yankees visit the AL East leading Orioles for a doubleheader that makes up an August 12 rainout at Camden Yards. The Yankees are 5-4 in September, the Orioles 7-3.
The Blue Jays are undergoing a September that some at Blue Bird Banter are calling "May 2.0" The Jays are 7-2 in September, and went 21-9 in May that included their sweep of the A's at Rogers Centre. Tampa Bay is 4-6 this month.
In a battle of AL Wild Card and Division contenders, the Indians and Tigers feature acquisition David Price against Carlos Carrasco. The Tigers are 6-3 this month, the Indians 6-5. Last week at Progressive Field, Detroit took three out of four.
The Red Sox and Royals showcase two teams headed in different directions. A Red Sox team waiting for next year against a Royals team desperate for next year to come. Boston won the first game of this four-game set last night, and is now 4-7 for September. Kansas City is 6-4.
And finally, our main event will be the Athletics and Mariners. Alex will have a series preview, but I'll add that the Athletics are 3-7 for the month headed into this matchup versus the Mariners September record of 6-4. The Mariners are coming off dropping two out of three to the Houston Astros, and allowing Texas its only win in its last 12 games, a 1-0 exercise in futility.
Time (PT) | Starting Pitcher | Notes | |
10:05 AM | Yankees | Brandon McCarthy (9-14, 4.13) | M# vs. NYY = 13 |
Orioles | Kevin Gausman (7-7, 3.83) | ||
4:05 PM | Yankees | Bryan Mitchell (1st start) | M# vs. NYY = 13 |
Orioles | Bud Norris (12-8, 3.92) | ||
4:07 PM | Rays | Nate Karns (1st start) | M# vs. TOR = 13 |
Blue Jays | J.A. Happ (9-9, 4.44) | ||
4:08 PM | Indians | Carlos Carrasco (7-4, 2.69) |
M# vs. CLE = 13
M# vs. DET = 16
|
Tigers | David Price (13-11, 3.33) | ||
5:10 PM | Red Sox | Allen Webster (3-3, 6.47) | M# vs. KCR = 17 |
Royals | Yordano Ventura (12-9, 3.25) | ||
7:10 PM | Athletics | Jason Hammel (10-10, 3.55) | M# vs. SEA = 16 |
Mariners | James Paxton (5-2, 1.87) |