The Oakland Athletics are once again American League West champions, and a walk-off grand slam by Justin Maxwell in Kansas City (ironically) was the hammer that initially eliminated the Rangers from the race for the division title. However, the A's lived up to their end of the bargain and celebrated at the O.co Coliseum following an 11-7 win over the Twins on Sunday.
The A's took over first place for good on September 5th. Thanks to the Rangers' awful collapse in September, this race didn't go down to the wire like it did in 2012. A 16-5 September has resulted in Oakland picking up a mind-blowing 10.5 games on Texas this month, making their clinch a question of "when" rather than "if".
Oakland will likely be hosting the first round of the ALDS, but they can still earn homefield advantage throughout the playoffs, as the club is just 1.5 games behind the Red Sox for the American League's top seed. The A's are just one win away from matching last year's total of 94 victories, a total that should be reached thanks to their final three games taking place in Seattle against the lowly Mariners.
