Going into tonight’s game, it was easy to take for granted where the A’s were at. Clinching a playoff spot was fresh on the mind, the team has caught fire the past few months, and gaining home-field advantage in the wild card game felt more like icing than the actual cake.
But in a one-game playoff series, you need to take and wield any little advantage you can get. Playing in Oakland is that advantage the team needs against an equally talented Rays club. And if the A’s didn’t win today’s game, the chances of there being another Coliseum baseball game in 2019 would’ve gotten significantly slimmer.