AL Playoff Standings 2019: Latest Wild-Card Info, Team Records and More

One of Oakland, Tampa Bay and Cleveland will be left heartbroken when they come up short in the American League wild-card race. 

The Athletics' two-game losing streak paired with back-to-back victories from the Rays and Indians tightened the gap going into the final five days of the Major League Baseball regular season. 

Oakland holds a one-game lead in the loss column on its two challengers for the first wild-card spot, and it is level on wins with Tampa Bay and a single victory above Cleveland. 

The slide from Bob Melvin's side has opened the door for any of the three to end up in the top wild-card position. 

AL Wild-Card Standings

1. Oakland (94-63) 

2. Tampa Bay (94-64) 

3. Cleveland (93-64) 

After losing their series finale with Texas Sunday, the Athletics came up short Tuesday versus the Los Angeles Angels. 

A three-run fifth from the eliminated AL West side prevented the A's from opening up the final stretch of the regular season with a win. 

Even though the gap has narrowed, Melvin is focused on what his team can control, not what the Rays and Indians are doing, per MLB.com's Martin Gallegos. 

Alex Gallardo/Associated Press

"It's always been tight and it's going to continue to be tight," he said. "We just have to take care of ourselves. You can't get too consumed in what other teams are doing."

The second-place side in the AL West is 5-3 at Angel Stadium and 8-7 versus Seattle, who it plays in the final four contests. 

Even if the A's finish with the same record as their wild-card competitors, they will land a home meeting with either Cleveland or Tampa Bay based on head-to-head record. They went 5-1 against the Indians and 4-3 versus the Rays.

Frankie Montas, who has conceded seven earned runs in his last four starts, gets the ball Wednesday in Anaheim. 

Oakland has won each of Montas' last four starts, and if that trend continues, it will carry some momentum going into Seattle. 

Tampa Bay will call on Charlie Morton to silence the bats of the New York Yankees Wednesday. The 15-game winner struck out eight or more batters in three of his last four appearances. 

Tuesday's results put the 35-year-old in a position to pitch the Rays into first in the wild-card race, if the A's stumble again. 

That is why Tuesday's walk-off win over the AL East champion Yankees meant so much, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. 

"Unbelievable,'' Rays manager Kevin Cash said of the victory. "Everybody that came in provided the role that we needed. We had to be that sharp, no margin for error. It was just an outstanding effort by everybody that came in.''

After Wednesday, the Rays head to Toronto for a three-game set. They are 12-4 versus the Blue Jays and have four victories at Rogers Centre. If they end up in a tie with the Indians for the second wild-card position, they would host a potential tiebreaker due to a 6-1 mark versus the AL Central franchise. 

Cleveland sits in the least favorable position down a game in the win column to the Rays and forced to hit the road in most wild-card scenarios. The only way it can host the wild-card game is if they overtake both of their competitors in the final five contests. 

Shane Bieber takes the mound Wednesday against the Chicago White Sox, who he controlled September 4 with nine strikeouts and two earned runs over seven innings. 

Terry Francona's team received a boost at the plate Tuesday with the return of Jose Ramirez, who had two home runs and seven RBI in an 11-0 win over Chicago. The Indians manager was astonished by the infielder's performance after a month layoff, per MLB.com's Mandy Bell. 

"Unbelievable," Francona said. "I can’t tell you what I told [bench coach Brad Mills] before the second one, but he hit that ball like ... that's unbelievable. I mean seven RBI in his first two at-bats, and he had surgery and hasn't played in a month, that's unbelievable.”

After two clashes with the White Sox, the Indians head to Nationals Park to play a Washington team that clinched its postseason spot Tuesday. 

The three-game series with the NL East side will be difficult with the Nationals fighting to host the NL wild-card matchup. 

The Indians are in a tough spot, but they have won seven of their last eight games to put pressure on Oakland and Tampa Bay to keep winning. 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from Baseball Reference.