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Both the San Francisco Giants (71-57) and the Oakland Athletics (69-57) are still firmly in the playoff hunt following their weekend series against the Atlanta Braves and Tampa Bay Rays respectively.
The Giants split a four game set against Atlanta but still have a two game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers (69-59) thanks largely to their sweep of the boys in blue earlier in the week. The San Diego Padres also did San Francisco a huge favor by sweeping the Arizona Diamondbacks (67-67) to extend their lead over the D-backs to seven games.
The Athletics, who won received Sunday off after taking two of three from the Rays, are still 5.5 games back in the AL West despite going 8-2 in their past ten games. But in the wild card department, Oakland is currently sitting in a tie with the Baltimore Orioles for the second entry, with Tampa Bay only being 0.5 games above the two.
The Giants now get the luxury of playing six games against the Houston Astros and the Chicago Cubs this upcoming week as they look to jump out even further in the NL West. The Athletics could do very much the same with a four game set against the Cleveland Indians before the Boston Red Sox come into town for three of their own.
For more Giants news, head on over to McCovey Chronicles. If the Athletics are more your cup of tea, pay a visit to