OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Oakland Athletics will determine their place in baseball history -- and perhaps their place in next month's playoffs -- on the road.

Game-by-Game Highlights

Game 1: Beat Toronto 5-4 (H) Eric Chavez's two-out single in the 7th breaks 3-3 tie. Barry Zito allows one ER in 8 innings. Game 2: Beat Toronto 4-2 (H) Chavez belts 3-run HR in 1st. Tim Hudson allows two runs in 7+ innings. Game 3: Beat Chicago 1-0 (H) Cory Lidle pitches 7 scoreless innings. Jermaine Dye homers off Mark Buehrle. Game 4: Beat Chicago 9-2 (H) Mark Ellis' 3-run HR sparks 5-run 3rd inning. Game 5: Beat Chicago 7-4 (H) Terrence Long hits two HRs, drives in 4 runs. Game 6: Beat Cleveland 8-1 (A) Chavez hits two HRs, drives in 5. Hudson allows one run in 8+. Game 7: Beat Cleveland 6-3 (A) Chavez hits 2-run HR in 1st, Dye hits 3-run HR in 3rd. Game 8: Beat Cleveland 6-0 (A) Lidle runs scoreless streak to 31 innings with one-hitter. Game 9: Beat Cleveland 9-3 (A) Break 3-3 tie with 2 runs in 8th, 4 more in 9th. Game 10: Beat Detroit 9-1 (A) John Mabry has two HRs and 5 RBI, Miguel Tejada drives in 3. Game 11: Beat Detroit 12-3 (A) David Justice, Chavez, Long homer as Jose Lima pounded for 11 runs. Game 12: Beat Detroit 10-7 (A) Rally from 7-2 deficit, with Mabry two-run double providing go-ahead runs in 8th. Game 13: Beat Kansas City 6-3 (A) Lidle allows one unearned in 7 innings. Ramon Hernandez knocks in 3. Game 14: Beat Kansas City 6-4 (A) Justice drives in 3 to lead 12-hit attack. Game 15: Beat Kansas City 7-1 (A) Score 6 in the first, Zito allows one run in 7 innings. Game 16: Beat Minnesota 4-2 (H) Ray Durham gets 4 hits, Chavez knocks in go-ahead run in 5th. Game 17: Beat Minnesota 6-3 (H) Chavez breaks 3-3 tie in 8th with two-out, two-run single. Game 18: Beat Minnesota 7-5 (H) Blow 4-2 lead in 9th, but Tejada belts 3-run homer in bottom of inning. Game 19: Beat Kansas City 7-6 (H) Justice drives in 4, Tejada singles home winning run in 9th. Game 20: Beat Kansas City 12-11 (H) Blow 11-0 lead, but win third straight game in bottom of 9th on Scott Hatteberg's HR.

The A's 20-game winning streak is on the line Friday night when they open a seven-game road trip in Minnesota. A victory in the Metrodome in front of thousands of Homer Hanky-waving fans would make their streak the second-longest in major league history.

"These three games coming up will be the toughest we've played during the streak,'' said first baseman Scott Hatteberg, whose pinch-hit homer in the ninth gave Oakland a 12-11 win over Kansas City on Wednesday night. "That's a division-leading team playing at home. We'll have to get a little lucky to come out of there with all three games.''

One look at the standings reveals what manager Art Howe reminds his players: Despite their charge to baseball's longest winning streak in 67 years, Oakland is just three games in front of Anaheim for the AL West lead following the Angels' seventh straight victory on Thursday night.

With one poor series in the A's final 23 games, the longest winning streak in AL history could become a bittersweet memory.

"That's one of the most amazing parts of all this,'' left-hander Barry Zito said. "We've been the hottest team in years, and we're still one bad series away from second place. It just reminds us to treat every game the same way and not think about the streak.''

The A's, winners of every game on their schedule since Aug. 12, need one more win to tie the Chicago Cubs of 1880 and 1935, who both won 21 straight. The major league record is 26, set by the 1916 New York Giants.

The AL Central-leading Twins, who lost three tough games at the Coliseum last weekend, will send Brad Radke to the mound Friday night against A's right-hander Cory Lidle, the AL Pitcher of the Month for August after allowing only one earned run in six outstanding starts.

The streak has given Oakland the push it needed to move ahead in baseball's toughest three-team division race -- but not by much. With a 10-1 victory over Tampa Bay on Thursday night, the Angels stretched their own winning streak to seven. While Oakland went 20-0, Anaheim was 15-6.

When the streak began, Oakland was 4½ games behind Seattle in third. The A's needed seven straight wins to claim a share of the division lead, and they didn't have sole possession until their 10th straight victory on Aug. 23.

The streak began with five victories at home three weeks ago, but it became something special during a 10-game road trip through the Midwest in which the A's pounded opponents by a combined 81-26.

The A's visit Anaheim after their three-game series in Minnesota, with the possible record-tying and record-setting games scheduled for next week against the Angels.

"I guarantee you that nobody on this team has thought about that,'' closer Billy Koch said. "It's tough enough beating the Kansas City Royals in one game without thinking about the whole rest of the regular season.''

The series in Minneapolis is a matchup of division leaders and a probable playoff preview if the A's can hold off Anaheim for the AL West title. The national attention that's been focused on Oakland will shift to the Metrodome as the A's and Twins both attempt to inch closer to division titles.

But not even a wild-card berth is a certainty for Oakland. The struggling Seattle Mariners are seven games behind the A's -- but everybody in baseball learned what manager Lou Piniella's players can do last season, when they won 116 games.

The A's have six games remaining against Seattle, including a three-game series in Oakland next weekend. All told, the A's final 20 games are against division opponents.

Howe said he would love a couple of easy victories, but his team couldn't get any at home. Perhaps the A's will dispense with the drama on the road, where they have won 15 of their last 17 overall.

"Winning is sort of in our blood right now,'' Zito said. "The last three games, we've just expected to have a walk-off hit to end it.''