The Tampa Bay Devil Rays came very close to sweeping the Oakland Athletics in the Tier 3 ALDS, winning the first game of the series and only losing the second game by four-fifths of a run. That three-fifths of a run proved to be their undoing, however, as the A’s rallied in game 3 to take the series and advance to the next round.

The Devil Rays had started the season strong, including a narrow 30-29 victory over a strong Boston Red Sox team, but struggled later in the season and ended with a 5-9 victory, tying them for the 9th overall position in the AL. The Athletics struggled from the start as their coach went missing after the draft, but a replacement coach in psanchez55’s dad led them through the season and they were able to pick up three wins, finishing 11th overall in the AL. Between the Devil Rays’ better record and the fact that they beat the A’s, 7 to -2, when the teams faced each other during the regular season, they were considered slight favorites in this series.

Both teams put up only modest totals throughout the series, no team scoring more than ten runs in an individual game. The Devil Rays took the first game at home by a score of 8 to 5, and victory seemed very likely, especially after they scored 9 runs in their second game at the A’s home field of Playground Commons.

However, they gave up six runs to the AI A’s, reducing their run differential to only 3, and the A’s also put up a 3 with a 4-1 game. The 20% modifier for the home team ended up making the difference in this game; the four-fifths that it granted the A’s would normally be dropped and ignored, but in this otherwise tied contest it gave the 3-3 win to the A’s, keeping their series hopes alive.

Some coaches expected the Devil Rays to win the series anyway, but they were seemingly deflated by their loss and only scored 2 runs in Game Three, and the A’s made the most of their opportunity, winning the final contest 6-2.

Ramona Bennett of the Athletics was named the series MVP for doing a stellar job on the mound in addition to being good at getting on base.

The A’s will face the winner of the ALDS contest between the 0-14 Baltimore Orioles and the 5-9 Texas Rangers. The Rangers are considered heavy favorites in this contest, but their coach has not confirmed that they are participating in the playoffs.