The American League West lead is at stake when the second-place Houston Astros look to make up ground on the Oakland Athletics in a four-day, five-game series that kicks off Monday night in California.
The A's (23-14) will begin the final head-to-head between the division front-runners with a 3 1/2-game lead over the Astros (21-19), who have won the last three AL West titles, with Oakland finishing second in each of the last two seasons.
Both teams are coming off losses Sunday, one that was especially painful for the A's, who had to take standout third baseman Matt Chapman out of their 5-3 home loss to the San Diego Padres because of a strained right hip.