No one saw this coming.
The Oakland Athletics, who opened the 2018 season with a major league-low $62 million payroll, have stunned the baseball world with a postseason berth after the Tampa Bay Rays lost 4-1 to the New York Yankees on Monday evening.
The A's become the fifth and final American League team to punch their playoff ticket. It will be their first postseason appearance since 2014 and fourth in the past seven years.
Earlier Monday, the A's made an announcement even they likely didn't expect in March: Single-game tickets for the Athletics potential wild card and AL Division Series home games go on sale Friday.
This coming from a club that was ranked 26th entering the season in USA TODAY Sports' power rankings in April. Now, at 94-62, they have improved by 19 games since winning 75 last year.
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The A's, who are on a magical 60-26 run since June 16, are two games behind the Yankees for the top AL wild card spot. They also sit five games behind the Houston Astros in the AL West with six games remaining
The Yankees hold the wild card tiebreaker, so the A’s will have to finish a game ahead to play host on Oct. 3.
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