SEATTLE -- The A's improbable season will extend to October.
By virtue of a Rays loss to the Yankees on Monday, the A's automatically punched a ticket to the postseason even before beginning play in Seattle.
They're at least guaranteed a place in the American League Wild Card Game next week -- the Yankees lead them by two games for the top spot with six games remaining -- and are barely hanging on in the AL West race. Houston entered the day with a 4 1/2-game advantage.
Now that the A's have clinched their first playoff berth since 2014, when their season ended in heartbreak in a theatrical Wild Card tilt with the Royals, their next priority is gaining home-field advantage for the winner-take-all game.