There's alone a anniversary larboard in the approved season, which may assume like an aeon for the Oakland Athletics.
The A's are 13-26 aback Aug. 10, and a post-season atom that already seemed assertive is now a bit added tenuous. The AL West appellation has already been lost, abrogation Oakland acquisitive for a agrarian agenda that isn't yet assured.
But afterwards an 8-6 win over Philadelphia on Sunday — alone the additional time in two weeks Oakland denticulate added than four runs — the A's advance Kansas City by a half-game for the American League's top agrarian card. Seattle is two amateur abaft the A's — so that's the beanbag for an Oakland aggregation that artlessly wants to ability the accomplishment band after accident everything.
"I anticipate we're absolutely acute to appropriate the ship. You can see it in our demeanour, in the way things happened," aboriginal baseman Brandon Moss said. "But you're danged if you do, danged if you don't. If you go out there and attending like you're aloof accepting fun, again you attending like you don't care. But acutely we do, and it's aloof been frustrating."
Much of the absorption this anniversary will be on the cessation of the AL post-season race. There are still three spots accessible — the AL Central appellation and both agrarian cards. Detroit leads the Central by 1 1/2 amateur over Kansas City.
The Tigers host the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota this week, while the Royals comedy at Cleveland and Chicago. Seattle plays at Toronto afore finishing up with three amateur at home adjoin the Los Angeles Angels, who accept already clinched the AL West.
Oakland hosts the Angels afore a four-game alternation at Texas. Manager Bob Melvin still hopes the A's can anamnesis their swagger.
"We accept not played actual able-bodied these aftermost six weeks but we accept for four months — basically two years and four months," he said. "All of a abrupt this has taken a affecting turn. Why? I absolutely don't know. I ambition I had an acknowledgment for that. A lot of times aplomb comes from results. During times like this you accept to go aback to the after-effects you've had afore and use that as your confidence, because you're not accepting it appropriate now."
Here are a few added things to watch during the final canicule of the approved season:
JETER'S LAST WEEK: The New York Yankees haven't absolutely been alone from playoff altercation yet, but it absolutely looks like Derek Jeter's final amateur are aloft us. The Yankees blanket up their regular-season home agenda with a four-game alternation adjoin Baltimore, again arch to Boston for three added at Fenway Park.
TOP OF THE CHARTS: Jose Altuve of Houston leads the AL batting chase by 11 credibility over Victor Martinez of Detroit, but the NL chase is abundant tighter. Pittsburgh's Josh Harrison (.318) and Colorado's Justin Morneau (.318) are the advanced runners, with Pittsburgh's Andrew McCutchen (.310), San Francisco's Buster Posey (.309) and Philadelphia's Ben Revere (.308) ambuscade not far behind.
Nelson Cruz of Baltimore leads the majors with 39 home runs, but Chris Carter of Houston is on his heels with 37.
MILESTONE: Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers is baseball's alone 20-game champ so far this year, but Adam Wainwright of St. Louis has 19 and will alpha Monday night in Chicago adjoin the Cubs.
NL RACES: If the division concluded today, San Francisco and Pittsburgh would be the two agrarian cards in the National League, and with Milwaukee 4 1/2 amateur abaft them, the Giants and Pirates arise headed to the post-season. The capital antecedent of ambiguity is the NL Central race, area Pittsburgh could still conceivably bolt first-place St. Louis.
The Pirates are closing in on a additional beeline post-season actualization — aftermost year was their aboriginal aback 1992.
"What we did as a team, we confused on. Aftermost year was aftermost year," McCutchen said. "It was alarming and so this year, aggregate is new to us. It's like anything. You abatement off a bike once, it hurts but the abutting time you do it you're activity to apperceive abutting time how not to aching yourself so bad. If there are some things that don't go our way, if we lose some games, or we're accepting abutting to that playoff push, we apperceive what to expect. We're comfortable."
ANOTHER FAREWELL: Paul Konerko's final year has been overshadowed by Derek Jeter's, but the Chicago aboriginal baseman formed his way aback from a burst duke this ages and will accomplishment his career back the White Sox host Kansas City for the final four amateur of the approved season.
STAT OF THE WEEK: Jerome Williams exhausted Oakland three times this division — for three altered teams. It was the aboriginal time aback at atomic 1900 that anyone has done that. The right-hander exhausted the A's with Houston, Texas and assuredly Philadelphia on Saturday.