With less than 20 games left to go in their regular season, it is time for the Athletics to reflect. Mark Kotsay's team went from a dark horse in the American League back to a familiar spot. While Anthony has had his moments with the Boston Red Sox, the AL ROTY competition is a two-man race.

At 66-79, the Athletics still have a ways to go before making their way into the playoffs. Chiefly amongst the bunch is first baseman Nick Kurtz. As the Athletics continue their rebuild, Kurtz will be at the center of any success they find. As it stands, the first baseman is the runaway favorite to take home the AL Rookie of the Year Award, with -50000 odds on ESPN Bet.

Red Sox star Garrett Crochet earned nothing but praises after a sterling start versus the Athletics on Monday night.

Garrett Crochet struck out 10 in seven innings, Trevor Story and Carlos Narváez homered and the Boston Red Sox defeated the Athletics 7-0 on Monday night. Crochet (15-5), coming off a shaky start against Cleveland on Sept. 2, allowed less than four hits for the first time since Aug. 17. Story's 24th homer of the season, a no-doubter to left-center, gave the Red Sox an early lead.

Boston Red Sox (80-65, third in the AL East) vs. Athletics (66-79, fifth in the AL West) West Sacramento, California; Tuesday, 10:05 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Red Sox: Dustin May (7-11, 4.96 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 123 strikeouts); Athletics: Jeffrey Springs (10-10, 4.13 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 126 strikeouts) BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Red Sox -112, Athletics -107; over/under is 10 1/2 runs BOTTOM LINE: The Athletics host the Boston Red Sox looking to stop a four-game home losing streak. The Athletics have a 66-79 record overall and a 29-41 record at home. The Athletics have a 59-13 record in games when they out-hit their opponents. Boston has an 80-65 record overall and a 36-37 record on the road. The Red

Red Sox manager Alex Cora surprised himself with a Jarren Duran position switch decision prior to the game that he had to reverse.

Abreu now has a set timeframe to return.

Garrett Crochet struck out 10 in seven innings, Trevor Story and Carlos Narváez homered and the Boston Red Sox defeated the Athletics 7-0 on Monday night. Crochet (15-5), coming off a shaky start against Cleveland on Sept. 2, allowed less than four hits for the first time since Aug. 17. Story's 24th homer of the season, a no-doubter to left-center, gave the Red Sox an early lead.

After avoiding a sweep at Arizona with a 7-4 win on Sunday , the Red Sox will continue their road trip when they open a three-game series with the Athletics at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, Calif. Garrett Crochet will be on the mound for Monday's opener, looking to bounce back from arguably his worst start of the season when he could not hold on to a 5-1 lead against the Guardians. The lefthander allowed seven runs on nine hits, including four home runs, in six innings. Fortunately for him, the Sox rallied for an 11-7 win . Related : After his worst start as a Red Sox, is there reason to worry about Garrett Crochet? It marked the second time in five starts that the 26-year-old Crochet

The Red Sox don't know who's starting for them Wednesday. Another lefty who would be making his major league debut is an option.

Boston Red Sox (79-65, third in the AL East) vs. Athletics (66-78, fifth in the AL West) West Sacramento, California; Monday, 10:05 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Red Sox: Garrett Crochet (14-5, 2.67 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 218 strikeouts); Athletics: Luis Morales (3-0, 1.59 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 30 strikeouts) BOTTOM LINE: The Athletics open a three-game series at home against the Boston Red Sox on Monday. The Athletics are 66-78 overall and 29-40 in home games. The Athletics have a 48-18 record in games when they scored five or more runs. Boston has a 79-65 record overall and a 35-37 record in road games. The Red Sox have gone 51-13 in games when they scored five or more runs. Monday's game is the first time

The Athletics will try to complete a three-game series sweep of the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday afternoon in Anaheim, Calif., and in the process move out of last place in the American League West. "That's our goal," A's manager Mark Kotsay said. The Athletics (66-77) enter the series finale trailing fourth-place Los Angeles (66-76) by a half-game in the standings. The A's have dominated the first two games of the series, scoring 27 runs on 30 hits, including six home runs, while holding Los Angeles to eight runs and 14 hits.

Nick Kurtz, Colby Thomas, Carlos Cortes and J.J. Bleday all homered to lead the Athletics to a 17-4 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday night. Kurtz, the 22-year-old rookie sensation, hit a 447-foot shot to left-center field in the fourth inning off reliever Chase Silseth for his 29th home run this season. Kurtz scored three runs and drew walks in his first two at-bats against Yusei Kikuchi.

Thomas went 2-for-5 with four runs scored and three RBIs and Jacob Wilson and Shea Langeliers each had three hits for the Athletics , who finished with 21 hits while scoring a season-high in runs. The win moved the A's to within a half-game of Los Angeles for fourth place in the American League West. J.T. Ginn snapped a six-start winless streak dating to a July 27 victory at Houston, allowing one run on five hits over five innings. Jo Adell and Matthew Lugo hit home runs and Yoan Moncada had an RBI triple for Los Angeles, which lost its third straight game.

JJ Bleday hit a three-run homer during a seven-run third inning, Mason Barnett recovered after giving up four runs in the first inning, and the Athletics beat the Los Angeles Angels 10-4 on Friday night. Barnett (1-1) hit a batter and walked three — two with the bases loaded — during a shaky first inning, but the 24-year-old right-hander blanked the Angels on one hit and struck out eight over the next four innings to earn his first win in his second big league start. Angels right-hander José Soriano (10-10), who threw 12 2/3 scoreless innings in his previous two starts, was rocked for eight runs and six hits in 2 1/3 innings, with five strikeouts and four walks.

The Athletics showed flashes this season, but they will need to make some big moves in the offseason. Which free agents should they pursue?

Two teams in a battle to avoid finishing in the American League West's cellar square off Friday night when the last-place Athletics open a three-game series with the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif. The fourth-place Angels (66-74), who have 22 games remaining, hold a 2 1/2-game lead over the A's (64-77) in the standings. Los Angeles also boasts an 8-2 lead in the series, including a three-game sweep of the Athletics in Anaheim on June 9-11. Mason Barnett (0-1, 11.25 ERA), ranked the A's No. 10 prospect by MLB Pipeline, will make his second career start and first on the road on Friday.

The Cardinals' series finale against the Athletics on Sunday showcased a record turnout, but for the wrong reasons.

The Cardinals prevailed as they beat the Athletics 5-1 to claim the series. The Athletic's Katie Woo reported that the team's official attendance for the game was 17,00. It marked the lowest in the history of Busch Stadium III, not including COVID restrictions.

Willson Contreras had three hits and four RBIs, Nolan Gorman homered and Matthew Liberatore pitched 5 1/3 shutout innings in the St. Louis Cardinals' 5-1 victory over the Athletics on Wednesday night. Liberatore (7-11) struck out seven. Gorman hit a solo home run in the seventh inning, his 14th of the season. Contreras opened the scoring in the third with a two-run single off Jeffrey Springs (10-10) that right fielder Brent Rooker misjudged or couldn't see.