The A's have gone 9-1 in their last 10 games, and gained no ground at all on the Angels and Red Sox. Poor Texas "only" went 7-3, and lost two games in the standings.

Nobody is letting up, so the A's need to keep winning this weekend. In theory, Tampa Bay should yield to the A's playoff steamroller, but this weekend's pitching matchups look surprisingly even:

Friday, 7:05 PM (KICU): Mark Hendrickson (8-12, 4.63) vs. Mark Redman (9-10, 4.30)
Saturday, 6:05 PM (FSN): Dewon Brazelton (6-4, 3.31) vs. Tim Hudson (9-4, 2.85)
Sunday, 1:05 PM (FSN): Scott Kazmir (1-0, 0.00) vs. Mark Mulder (17-4, 3.72)

Hendrickson and Redman are lefties of similar quality, Brazelton shut down the A's last Sunday, and Kazmir is the hot prospect that the Mets inexplicably gave away. The Devil Rays won't be pushovers.