Seattle trimmed the A’s lead for the second wild card down to 4 1/2 games. A win Sunday would narrow it to 3 1/2 games with a three-game series vs. the Orioles — the worst team in baseball — to follow at Safeco Field.
OAKLAND, Calif. — A four-game sweep would’ve been the ideal for the Mariners and their postseason hopes as they entered the final month of the season. But it also seemed unrealistic. A four-game sweep of even the worst team in baseball is difficult, but to take four in a row from the A’s — a team that’s been consistently outperforming them since mid-June didn’t seem plausible.