Sonny Gray pitched his Oakland A's to the postseason, nailing down a spot after shutting out the Texas Rangers 4-nothing. He said he had his curveball working well...

Sunday's win came on the birthday of his mom's birthday. She had told him earlier in the day that there was only one thing that would make it a happy birthday. Sonny delivered. Gray pitched in high school at Smyrna, where he also led the football team to two straight state titles. He pitched for Vanderbilt in college before going to the pros.

Oakland, returning to the playoffs for the third year in a row, will head to Kansas City for the American League wild card game on Tuesday at 5 p.m. Pacific time.