ARLINGTON -- The A's are back in the postseason.
The journey to get there was unexpectedly arduous and certainly more dramatic than it needed to be, but the A's, stuck in survival mode for several weeks, rode a Sonny Gray shutout to a 4-0 victory over the Rangers at Globe Life Park on Sunday, the final day of the season, punching their ticket to Tuesday's American League Wild Card Game in Kansas City.
It will be Oakland's third consecutive postseason appearance, the previous two ending in Game 5 losses toJustin Verlander and the Tigers in the AL Division Series.
Gray's gem, just the second complete game of his career, allowed the A's to cancel all pending reservations in Seattle, nullifying a potential Game 163 on Monday. Instead, the A's will head straight to Kansas City and work out Monday afternoon in advance of Tuesday's 5 p.m. PT contest, led by their ace, Jon Lester.
Gray was superb on a day when he absolutely needed to be, allowing the Rangers just six hits without walking a batter and ringing up five strikeouts to remain efficient throughout, needing just 103 pitches to put the exclamation point on an emotional season.
"It's pretty amazing," manager Bob Melvin said. "For a 24-year-old kid who looks like he's 14 and pitches like he's 30, we've asked so much of him over the last couple of years, and for him to step up today, he kind of gave me an inkling that he might be the only guy we needed."
The A's exited the All-Star break with baseball's best record but stumbled offensively for much of the second half, allowing the Angels to run away with the AL West crown in a matter of weeks.
"We're still in, and I think that was the goal all along," said closer Sean Doolittle. "Once we could get that monkey off our back, we feel like we have a team that could do something special, and I think we're going to enjoy the heck out of this right now, after everything that this team has been through."
Lately, Oakland has done just enough to get by, and on Sunday, Gray got all the support he needed in the second inning.
Brandon Moss led off the frame with a double against righty Nick Martinez and scored on Josh Reddick's ensuing triple. One out later, Stephen Vogt celebrated an RBI base hit, ensuring Gray two more runs than he received in his last start, a tough-luck loss to the Angels.
The A's added some insurance in the ninth inning on Jed Lowrie's two-run single.
"There's been a lot of ups and downs this year," Lowrie said, "but we punched our ticket, and that's all that matters."
Gray's only other complete game also came against the Rangers, a three-hit shutout back in April, but against a healthier Texas lineup and under much different circumstances. He's already shown in little time, though, his love for a good challenge, evidenced by two gritty starts against the Tigers in last year's ALDS.
He surely shined on this day, particularly in the fifth inning when the Rangers threatened with runners at the corners and none out. Gray proceeded to strike out Luis Sardinas and force an inning-ending double play from former teammate Adam Rosales to escape his only jam.
Gray finished the regular season with 14 wins, the A's with 88, after totaling 96 last year.
Jane Lee is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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