Oakland clinches AL wild-card berth for 2nd straight year
SEATTLE (AP) — The Oakland Athletics have clinched a wild-card berth in the American League before even throwing a pitch on Friday night.
The A's claimed one of the two wild-card spots when Cleveland lost to Washington. The A's exchanged handshakes and a handful of hugs in the dugout prior to the first pitch against Seattle, but the bigger celebration had to wait.
The Athletics began the night with a one-game lead over Tampa Bay for the first wild-card spot and home-field advantage. The A's and Rays will meet Wednesday night.
It's the second straight year the A's have earned the wild card and third wild-card berth since 2014. Oakland is 59-27 since June 17, the best record in baseball during that stretch.
Oakland has now reached the postseason 10 times since 2000.
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
