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Athletics headed to postseason for 3rd straight season

Ezra Shaw / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The Oakland Athletics officially clinched a postseason berth for the third straight year, beating the San Francisco Giants 6-0 Friday night for the team's 32nd win of the campaign.

The A's have made a swift exit in the playoffs the past two seasons, losing the wild-card game in 2018 to the New York Yankees and in 2019 to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Oakland becomes the third AL team to punch their ticket to the playoffs, joining the Chicago White Sox and Rays.

"This team is extremely hungry for a lot bigger things than just the playoffs," A's pitcher Chris Bassitt, who earned the win Friday, told Martin Gallegos of MLB.com. "It's awesome, but we basically just acted like it was another game. I think once we win the division, there might be a little celebration."

The Athletics' magic number to clinch the AL West is now down to two, referring to any combination of A's wins or Houston Astros losses. It would be their first division title since 2013 and also mark the first time since 2016 the Astros don't win the division.

With the expanded postseason format, 16 teams - eight from each league - will make the playoffs this year. Beginning Sept. 29, those teams will face off in a wild-card round consisting of three-game series.

If the postseason began following Friday's games, the A's would line up against the Astros.

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