OAKLAND, Calif. _ Throughout this entire week, A's manager Bob Melvin has refused to even entertain the idea of potentially clinching a playoff berth at home until the exact day presented itself. That day is now here.
Stephen Piscotty's mad dash to home to score the game-winning run on a walk-off wild pitch from Trevor Hildenberger in Saturday's 3-2 victory shrunk the A's magic number to one. This means the A's can clinch a playoff berth in front of their home fans at the Coliseum Sunday with a win or loss by the Tampa Bay Rays, who will begin their game three hours before.
The wild pitch by Hildenberger came while he was facing Matt Chapman with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth, marking the A's first victory via walk-off wild pitch since April 26, 1997.
Mike Fiers did not earn the win, but he was deserving of it with the performance he turned in.
The right-hander limited the Twins to just one run over six innings of work with five strikeouts before turning it over to the bullpen at just 79 pitches. In nine starts since he was acquired via trade from the Detroit Tigers in August, Fiers has posted a 2.72 ERA with the A's.
Jeurys Familia took over in the seventh tasked with the responsibility of holding a one-run lead, but gave it up just three batters into his outing after back-to-back hits by Ehire Adrianza and Willians Astudillo tied the game. Famila was unable to complete the inning, pulled for Ryan Buchter after record the second out.
It's been a rough go for Familia as of late, along with fellow back-end bullpen mates Lou Trivino and Fernando Rodney. When these three pitchers entered the game, it was usually game over for the opposing side. But in the month of September, the trio has built up an ugly 7.83 ERA over 23 innings.
Marcus Semien's two-run homer off Chase De Jong in the fifth, his 13th of the season, put the A's ahead 2-1.
