by Daniel Dullum

The Oakland A’s put a little touch of drama to cap off their regular season, they just barely stuck in there and that team will tell you you just want a chance. If it’s for a one game playoff so be it. Even though the A’s were in the driver’s seat the biggest issue for Oakland right now is a lack of offense. Pitching is not a problem as you go into the playoffs.

One of the reasons that hitting could be a problem is that the A’s have struggled with it after the All-Star break and they need to get their swing going now when they face the mighty Kansas City Royals at Kaufman Stadium on Tuesday night. From this point on your not going to see the number four or number five starter for anybody it’s pretty much a three man rotation for every team with the exception of the occasional one starter.

It comes down to nine innings and the A’s will start Jon Lester (16-11 ERA 2.46) against the Roayls James Shields (14-8 3.21) on Tuesday night. The Royals are playing really good baseball right now and that could be a problem for Oakland as well plus the Royals are playing at home and in the playoffs that matters a little bit because you got your fans behind you.

It’s a whole different vibe working in your own ball park and it’s been so long since the Royals have been in the post season 1985 that’s the last time the Royals were there. There were players that weren’t even born when that 85 team went to post season. It’s exciting for the Royals in Missouri and the A’s have their work cut out for them.

Pitching isn’t a problem but their running right into a red hot team and the Royals to a man also believe they think they can get the job done, they have timely hitting, and their hot at the right time of the year we’ll see how it goes for the green and gold.

San Francisco Giants wild card playoff Wednesday night: The Giants are in Pittsburgh for a one wild card match with the Pittsburgh Pirates and that could be problematic. Again Giants manager Bruce Bochy has done a terrific job pasting a line up together the last several months. They have players that have hardly been around all season long like Angel Pagan, Matt Cain and Brandon Belt.

Second base had been a problem and that started with the Giants Marco Scutaro being out for the season, rookie Joe Panik has been sensational and a real pleasant surprise taking the second base role .305, 31 runs scored, a homer and 18 RBIs. It’s been one thing after another for the Giants regarding the injuries. The outfield is in flux.

The Giants have veterans in that line up that can come up with a timely hit, like Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval, and Hunter Pence. Brandon Crawford has been swinging the hottest bat on the team in the last month. For Moss you can’t pick a better time to pick it up. It’s not impossible for the Giants their gong to run into a steadily improving Pirates team that’s not going to be satisfied with just getting into the playoffs. You can be assured the team who wants this game and wants to advance from the N.L. Wild Card is going to be in for a fight.

Daniel Dullum covers Oakland A’s baseball and is fills in for Amaury’s News and Commentary for http://www.sportsradioservice.com