A's Have One More Game to Play Spoiler Against Houston

The Athletics have been out of the hunt for October for weeks and will finish the season with the best odds of landing the No. 1 pick in the 2027 MLB Draft at 19.1%. That doesn't mean that they don't have something to play for on Sunday afternoon against the Houston Astros in the regular season finale.

With one game left, the Astros and Texas Rangers are tied atop the division with each team holding an 80-81 record. The Astros hold the tiebreaker over Texas, so a tie does the Rangers no good. That means Texas needs an A's win in order to have a shot at playing in October. They also need to win their own game to make that quest a reality.

A Houston win means they're in. A Texas loss eliminates the Rangers.

The A's will be going with all hands on deck on the mound. Seth Johnson will be serving as the team's opener, but Mark Kotsay has been adamant for weeks that his team wants to play spoiler. Sunday presents a key opportunity to end someone's season. It wouldn't be surprising to see the team empty out the bullpen chasing a win if one is within reach.

That's why Yunior Tur tossing the final 2 ⅓ innings and throwing 46 pitches on Saturday night could end up being a key factor on Sunday, as most of the primary relief options will have had a day off heading in, likely making them available for the final game.

The other thing the A's will be playing for is a bit of pride. Going into the series, they had a winning record against every team in the AL West. With Houston winning two of the first three games of this series, the Astros have evened up the season record at 6-6. A win on Sunday for the A's would put them back ahead 7-6 on the year.

The A's also held a 7-6 record against the Seattle Mariners and Rangers, and went 8-5 against the Angels . Despite holding a 64-97 record, holding a winning record against each team in the division would be one bright spot in an otherwise forgettable year.

Given the number of injuries the A's have faced this season and the lack of pitching needed to compete for much of the year, holding a winning record against each team in the division would be a huge confidence boost for the club going into next season when they will presumably be a bit healthier and have a little more pitching depth.