With 8.5 consecutive wins under their belts and freshly tied for the second Wild Card spot, all of a sudden the A’s rocky start doesn’t feel quite so rocky. Perhaps the way that the A’s got to this point of the season isn’t exactly how people anticipated, but “in contention for the second Wild Card spot” is more or less exactly where most thought the team would be. Today, with the Red Sox squeaking passed the Astros and securing a win, it was the onus for the A’s to beat a floundering Mariners’ squad to keep pace as the season’s second act was set to begin.