WEST SACRAMENTO – The Athletics likely will not reach the postseason in 2026, but there is still plenty of value in this final quarter of the regular season.
Nearly half of the A’s remaining schedule is against contending American League West opponents, presenting an opportunity to play spoiler.
“When you can cause some chaos in the division, that’s a priority for us,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “That would be the fun part. … In a season that has been really challenging, there are games left here to at least have some impact in a divisional race.”
Friday night’s series opener against the Rangers marked the first of 20 games the A’s will play against either Texas, the Astros or the Mariners – all three still very much in both the AL West and AL Wild Card race – over the final six weeks of the 2026 campaign.
The A’s made life a bit more difficult for the division-rival Rangers on Friday, pulling away late for an 8-3 win at Sutter Health Park that sunk Texas to three games back of Houston in the AL West and a half-game back of the third Wild Card spot.
Jeff McNeil led the way on offense for the A’s with a season-high four hits, and nearly hit for the cycle.
After a double in the second, a single in the fourth and a solo homer in the sixth, McNeil came up in the ninth a triple shy of making history – and nearly did it. The 34-year-old veteran lined a ball down the right-field line that bounced off the side wall and ricocheted in front of right fielder Brandon Nimmo.
For a split second, it appeared as if McNeil might try for third. Instead, he stayed put at second for a two-run double, shooting a large smile in the direction of his teammates inside the A’s dugout as he settled for a 4-for-5 night with three RBIs.