Much of the A’s success falls on the team’s pitching, which has been surprisingly competent all year long. A huge portion of that work, relatively speaking at least, has been done by the fantastic bullpen which has shortened games and rescued the A’s starters.
But the rotation has more than held its own, and in spite of looking rather hodgepodge, has been above average. That group has done one thing particularly well - get groundballs. That’s a smart move in front of this defense. The A’s infield is the second best in baseball in turning groundballs into outs.