Jacob Wilson’s single with one out in the ninth inning gave the Oakland Athletics a 5-4 win over the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night, marking the start of their final series at the Coliseum.
Zack Gelof led off the inning with a single and then stole second base. Wilson hit the first pitch from Josh Sborz (2-2) into center field, securing the A’s eighth walk-off win of the season. A’s closer Mason Miller (2-2) managed to get out of a tough situation with runners on first and third and one out in the top of the ninth, keeping the game tied.
Wilson, a 22-year-old rookie, expressed that it felt special to potentially record the last walk-off hit at the Coliseum, which has been the A’s home since 1968.
“That would be pretty cool to know that my first (walk-off hit) was the last one here,” Wilson said.
Jonah Heim tied the game with a solo home run in the eighth inning after Gelof had put the A’s ahead 4-3 in the sixth with a sacrifice fly.
Brandon Lowe’s solo home run cut the A’s lead to 3-2 in the fourth, and Texas equalized in the fifth when Heim was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Tyler Soderstrom contributed with two doubles and scored a run for the A’s.
During the eighth inning, a chant of “Sell the team! Sell the team!” echoed through the crowd of 30,402, and again when Wilson was being interviewed after his winning hit.
The A’s, who will move to Sacramento next season and then to Las Vegas in 2028, are last in MLB attendance this year, but they have seen nearly 28,000 fans on average at their last four home games. The final game at the Coliseum on Thursday is sold out.
“It’s a pretty emotional week … with everything that’s going on the next couple days,” Wilson said. “But we’re going to try and make it as special as we can with the fans and obviously the city, and tonight was pretty special.”
A’s manager Mark Kotsay was thankful that fans, many of whom took photos and captured memories of the stadium, left Tuesday’s game with a walk-off win as a lasting memory of the A’s.
“You can feel the sadness as opposed to the anger,” Kotsay said. “I just hope that the next two days are equally as enjoyable.”
A’s starter Mitch Spence, who gave up three runs in 4 2/3 innings, described the Coliseum as a “one of a kind ballpark.”
“I don’t think there’s ever going to be anything like it,” Spence said. “Taking in the scenery and the environment and what this place has to offer, it’s really one of a kind. It’s been a blessing to make my debut (here) and get a chance to experience it all.”
Following a report from USA TODAY that the A’s would increase security for the final home game, and that Kotsay was advised not to address the crowd afterward, Kotsay mentioned before the game that he hoped the “anger has passed,” but that players have been informed by security.
Kotsay added that he currently has no plans to speak to the fans after the game.
“I don’t think fans are going to want to leave the stadium,” Kotsay said, referring to Thursday as a “sendoff in a very special way for the fans and for our team.”
Rangers manager Bruce Bochy also held a team meeting to discuss what to do if fans rushed the field after the game. Bochy, who managed Kotsay in San Diego and won three World Series with the Giants, said it’s “hard to believe” that baseball is ending at the Coliseum and expressed sympathy for the dedicated A’s fans in Oakland.
“That last day, it’s going to be kind of strange,” Bochy said. “Just thinking, this is it. It’s the last game here at the Coliseum with all the history that’s happened here. I feel for the fans, I do. I know there’s a lot of diehard Oakland fans.”
