The third best team in the American League might actually be the Athletics.
Oakland defeated the Twins 7-2 on Thursday to take two out of three games in the series from the American League Central leaders and move to 48-40 on the season.
Marcus Semien hit a grand slam to lead the Athletics to the win and Oakland, all of a sudden, is just two games back of the Rays for the first wild-card spot in the American League.
Love a good grand finale at the fireworks show💥#RootedInOakland pic.twitter.com/nwglTzKITW
— Oakland A's (@Athletics) July 4, 2019
Tampa Bay lost to the Yankees 8-4 on Thursday and has now taken losses in 10 of its last 17 games.
Meanwhile, the Athletics have won five of their last six.
After starting the year 15-21, Oakland is on the precipice of getting home-field advantage in the wild-card game.
There's still a lot of baseball to be played but the Athletics are now in a fight for the first wild-card spot.
Studs of the Night
Jose Ramirez went 2 for 5 with two home runs in the Indians' 8-4 win over the Royals.
Matthew Boyd gave up nine hits and four runs, but he recorded 16 outs, 13 of which came via the strikeout in the Tigers' 11-5 win over the White Sox. That's an impressive ratio.
Kris Bryant went 4 for 5, finishing a triple shy of the cycle in the Cubs' 11-3 win over the Pirates.
Dud of the Night
Yasmani Grandal went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts in the Brewers' 1-0 loss to the Reds.
Highlight
Lourdes Gurriel made a spectacular diving play on Mookie Betts.
Glove Man Makes Play 👏@yunitogurriel | #PiñaPower 🍍 pic.twitter.com/MIzmc0OTC5
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) July 5, 2019
What's Next
Rockies (44-42) at Diamondbacks (43-45), 9:10 p.m. ET — Both of these teams are absolutely in the National League wild-card race and this series, which is the last before the All-Star break, could go a long way in determining whether one, or both of these teams, are buyers or sellers at the trade deadline.