A’s, Rays’ and Indians’ schedules impact wildcard race

The A’s won 97 games in 2018 and barely wiggled into the American League’s second wild card spot. There’s a chance they will have to exceed last year’s mark to secure a playoff berth in 2019.

With Tampa Bay and Cleveland both neck-and-neck with 92-64 records (as of Monday afternoon), the A’s hold a slight edge for home-field advantage in a wild card game with 94 wins and six games left — the magic number down to five — to clinch.

Here is a look at how each team’s next six games will play out.

Oakland Athletics — At a glance, it appears the A’s should have a clear path to, at the very least, win their final two regular season series.

Oakland plays the Los Angeles Angels for two games and Seattle Mariners for four on the road. The Angels are 70-86 and have already shut down likely AL MVP Mike Trout (who had foot surgery) and Shohei Ohtani. The Mariners are in last place, and have largely been playing for nothing for a few weeks now.

Possible bumps to a visibly smooth road trip could be the Mariners’ Kyle Lewis, a call-up who has mashed 6 home runs with a .327 average in his first 12 big league games. Daniel Vogel

bach has been a thorn in the A’s side, too. He leads the Mariners with 30 home runs.

Thorns aside, the A’s have the motivational edge, and talent, to near 100 wins after the trip.

Tampa Bay Rays — The Rays have a knack for the comeback. They walked off twice against the Boston Red Sox in extras this weekend, first on Willy Adames RBI single and then on Nate Lowe’s walk-off two-run homer

before losing a sleeper on Sunday (a game that kept the A’s lead in the first wild card spot at two games).

The Rays play the Sox once more Monday night before the already-clinched New York Yankees come to St. Petersburg for two games. At 102 wins, the Yankees are still vying for ultimate home field advantage with the Houston Astros (who also have 102 wins), so competitive fire may sober out any clinch-day hangovers.

The Rays finish off the season in Toronto for a three-gamer against the Blue Jays — a team that includes the charismatic Vladimir Guerrero Jr., but has only registered 63 wins.

Cleveland Indians — The Indians are tied with the Rays for the second wild card spot, currently, and have a tough road ahead.

They start on the road against a middling but tough Chicago White Sox team that includes one of baseball’s hottest hitters in Yoan Moncada. Then they travel to Washington D.C. to face the Nationals, who will also be vying for position to host the National League’s wild card game.