A's hit road again after final off day of season

The Oakland A's took two of three from the Baltimore Orioles during a brief stop-off at home before resuming a killer road schedule.

The A's are in the midst of playing 17 of 20 games away from home. So far, the team is 8-2 in that stretch after Sunday's 9-5 loss to the Orioles, but the remaining 10 games are particularly daunting.

Oakland plays three at Detroit against the Tigers, three at New York against the Yankees, and then four against the AL West-leading Rangers at Texas. All of the teams remain contenders with just over two weeks to play.

The A's are off Monday to travel to Detroit, but manager Bob Melvin said the fact that the team will then play 16 in a row to end the season is not a concern. He anticipates that the magnitude of each game will provide all the energy his team needs.

In addition, the A's are one of the youngest teams in baseball, so theoretically, fatigue should be less of a concern. Oakland has 14 rookies on its current roster, including four of its five starting pitchers.

The A's lost a game in the standings to the Rangers on Sunday, falling three games back in the division race. Oakland is two games ahead of Baltimore for the top AL wild-card spot, with the Los Angeles Angels 2 1/2 games behind the Orioles in the battle for the final playoff position.