The Oakland Athletics missed out this weekend

ST. PETERSBURG http://www.rangersfanproshop.com/authentic-matt-moore-jersey , Fla. (AP) — on gaining ground to host the AL wild-card game.Khris Davis hit a grand slam in the ninth inning but the Athletics again came up short, beaten by the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 on Sunday.“It was good to see on a day that looks like we’re dragging a little bit or a little bit flat to be able to put up a four-spot like that,” Oakland manager Bob Melvin said.The A’s remained 1 ½ games behind the New York Yankees for the top AL wild-card spot. Oakland lost for the second straight day at Tropicana Field — the Yankees fell to Toronto both days.Oakland dropped 4 ½ games behind AL West-leading Houston, which beat Arizona.Tampa Bay trails Oakland by seven games with 14 games left.C.J. Cron and Willy Adames homered off A’s starter Mike Fiers. Eight Tampa Bay pitchers combined on a four-hitter.“Oakland came in here as hot as any team and we pitched like we needed to,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said.Down 5-0, the A’s loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth on three walks by Jake Faria. After Jose Alvarado struck out Jed Lowrie, Sergio Romo allowed Davis’ major league-leading and career-high tying 43rd homer before getting the final two outs for his 21st save.Davis’ second career slam gave him 115 RBIs, second in the majors to the 122 for Boston’s J.D. Martinez.Fiers (12-7) dropped to 5-1 over eight starts since being acquired from Detroit on Aug. 6. He gave up three runs and four hits in four innings. The righty worked out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the second.“Put the guys behind early,” Fiers said. “Just too many jams, too many errant pitches.”Cron had a two-run drive in the first and Adames hit a fourth-inning solo shot. The Rays (82-66) secured their first winning season since reaching the playoffs in 2013 (92-71) as an AL wild-card team.“There’s no way around it, we’ve had a good year Delino DeShields Jersey ,” Cron said. “It’s just that the guys in front of us are having an exceptionally good year. I think most years this (record) would be good enough for a playoff spot.”Diego Castillo worked the first inning for the Rays, then Andrew Kittredge (3-2), Hunter Wood and Jaime Schultz all went two innings apiece.Kittredge also got the win in the Rays’ 7-5 victory Saturday night by retiring his only batter, Mark Canha, on two-out, bases-loaded grounder in the eighth.Matt Olson, who went 2 for 3 with a walk, was the only Oakland player to reach base through seven innings.Cron put Tampa Bay ahead 2-0 on his career-high 27th home, coming two pitches after Lowrie could only get a forceout after bobbling an apparent inning-ending double-play grounder to second by Ji-Man Choi.The Rays went up 5-0 in the seventh on Brandon Lowe’s two-run triple.TWENTY IS STILL SPECIALRays ace Blake Snell (19-5) will be seeking a major league-leading 20th win in the second of a three-game series Tuesday night at Texas. “I think it’s a huge stat for a pitcher,” Cash said. “Sometimes you’re at the mercy of the club, I understand that, but ultimately if you win 20 ballgames you’re going to put the club on your back and carry a lot of the load. Blake has done that.”TRAINER’S ROOMAthletics: RHP Trevor Cahill (upper back) is nearing a bullpen session and might rejoin the rotation next weekend. “We’ll have a better indication once gets off the mound and really has to extend Joey Gallo Jersey ,” Melvin said. “I think that’s where he was having his troubles.” Cahill is 6-3 in 19 starts.Rays: OF Tommy Pham, playing through groin and right ring finger injuries was rested. … Cash said it is unclear if C Michael Perez (left hamstring) will return this season.UP NEXTAthletics: RHP Liam Hendriks (0-1) will be the opener for the sixth time this month Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Angels.Rays: RHP Tyler Glasnow (0-4) will face Texas RHP Adrian Sampson (0-1) on Monday night. TORONTO — The Philadelphia Phillies are an example of how a team can turn things around from one season to the next.That should provide some encouraging new to fans at the Rogers Centre who have watched the Toronto Blue Jays struggle this season and last after reaching the American League Championship Series in 2015-16.The Phillies (69-58), who open a three-game interleague series against the Blue Jays (58-69) on Friday night, are still in contention in the National League East.Article continues below ...Right-hander Jake Arrieta (9-8, 3.25 ERA) will take the mound for the Phillies in the opener and he will oppose Blue Jays rookie left-hander Ryan Borucki (2-3, 4.27).Arrieta has not faced the Blue Jays this season and is 4-2 with a 4.85 ERA in eight career games (seven starts) against them.Borucki has never pitched against the Phillies.Philadelphia stopped a four-game losing streak Thursday afternoon with a 2-0 victory over the Washington Nationals on a two-run homer by Odubel Herrera and superb pitching from Aaron Nola.The Phillies already have surpassed their win total from last season when they won 66 games. This season, they won their 66th game on Aug. 15.The Blue Jays, meanwhile, are in a rebuilding phase, or as general manager Ross Atkins puts it, transitioning. Whatever terminology is used, the Blue Jays have played poorly this season and can be thankful that the Baltimore Orioles are even worse.The Blue Jays completed a three-game sweep of the Orioles with a 6-0 victory on Wednesday afternoon with left-hander Thomas Pannone losing a no-hitter in the seventh inning in his first major-league start. The Blue Jays are 12-1 this season against the Orioles and 10-0 against them at home.This is the second meeting of the season between the Phillies and Blue Jays. Toronto won two of three games on May 25-27 in Philadelphia. One of the winning pitchers for the Blue Jays was J.A. Happ http://www.rangersfanproshop.com/authentic-matt-moore-jersey , who was traded to the New York Yankees last month.The Phillies recalled catcher Andrew Knapp from Triple-A Lehigh Valley before their game Thursday and put first baseman Justin Bour (left oblique strain) and right-hander Edubray Ramos (right index finger) on the 10-day disabled list.Phillies catcher Wilson Ramos (sore left wrist) said he hopes to return to action Friday. He missed the past three games after taking a pitch off a wrist while behind the plate and aggravated it swinging the bat Sunday. He had an MRI.“So far, the results of the MRI are good,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said Wednesday. “We’ll monitor how he’s feeling and be prepared to read and react. As of right now, he’s good.”“It’s a little sore, but I can play with it sore,” said Ramos, who was obtained in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays last month.At the time of the trade, Ramos was on the DL with a strained hamstring. After being activated, he had seven hits in 17 at-bats (.412) in four games, including four doubles and a triple with four RBIs.The Blue Jays should have their rookie infielder Lourdes Gurriel (sprained left ankle) back in the lineup this weekend, possibly Friday. He has been on the disabled list since July 30.When Gurriel returns, he will be trying to prolong a streak of 11 straight games with at least two hits.Blue Jays designated hitter Kendrys Morales also will take a streak into Friday. He has homered in a career-best four straight games Ferguson Jenkins Jersey , for a total of five. Toronto expects to have right-hander Aaron Sanchez back in the starting rotation beginning Saturday. He injured his right middle index finger when it was caught in his falling suitcase.“The bag started falling, it happened all in a span of 30 seconds,” he said. “I pulled my finger, I said ‘ow.’ My knuckle got super fat. I pitched that day (at Anaheim), it probably didn’t help. But it was the first time I was going to pitch in front of my family as a professional. And I wanted to see what I could do.”Sanchez lasted one inning in the June 21 start against the Los Angeles Angels, allowing two runs, and has been on the disabled list since.