Wilson gets winning hit in 9th as A’s open final series at Coliseum with 5-4 victory over Rangers

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 24: Zack Gelof #20 of the Oakland Athletics slides past Jonah Heim #28 of the Texas Rangers to score the winning run at the Oakland Coliseum on September 24, 2024 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Image
OAKLAND, Calif. – Jacob Wilson’s single with one out in the ninth inning gave the Oakland Athletics a 5-4 victory over the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night in the opener of their final series at the Coliseum.
Zack Gelof stole second after leading the inning off with a single, and Wilson hit the first pitch he saw off Josh Sborz (2-2) into center field for the A’s eighth walk-off of the season. A’s closer Mason Miller (2-2) escaped a first-and-third jam with one out in the top of the ninth to keep the game tied.
Wilson, a 22-year-old rookie, said it was special that he could possibly record the last walk-off hit at the Coliseum, 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 evened the score with a solo homer in the eighth after Gelof had given the A’s a 4-3 lead in the sixth with a sacrifice fly. Brandon Lowe’s solo home run cut a 3-1 deficit in half in the fourth, and Texas tied the game in the fifth when Heim was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
Tyler Soderstrom had a pair of doubles for the A’s and scored a run.
A loud “Sell the team! Sell the team!” chant rang out in the eighth inning and again when Wilson was being interviewed after the winning hit from the announced crowd of 30,402. The A’s, who will relocate to Sacramento next season ahead of a planned move to Las Vegas in 2028, rank last in MLB in attendance this season but have averaged nearly 28,000 fans over 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 grateful that fans, many of whom posed for photos and took snapshots of the stadium, who attended Tuesday’s game left with a walk-off win as perhaps their 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 allowed three runs in 4 2/3 innings, called the Coliseum 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.”
Amid a USA TODAY report that the A’s will increase security at the final home game and that Kotsay was advised to scrap his plan to address the crowd after the game, Kotsay said before the game Tuesday that he hopes the “anger has passed” but that players have been briefed by security. Kotsay added that there are no current plans for him to grab a microphone after the game.
“I don’t think fans are going to want to leave the stadium,” Kotsay said, calling Thursday a “sendoff in a very special way for the fans and for our team.”
Rangers manager Bruce Bochy also held a team meeting and discussed what to do if fans stormed the field after the game. Bochy, who managed Kotsay in San Diego and also won three World Series across the Bay with the Giants, said it’s “hard to believe” baseball is ending at the Coliseum and that he feels for the diehard 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.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Athletics: OF Esteury Ruiz underwent successful right knee arthroscopy surgery and is expected to be ready for spring training next year.
Rangers: IF Josh Jung (right wrist tendinitis) was placed on the 10-day injured list. … Utility player Ezequiel Duran was placed on the paternity leave list, but is expected to return before the end of the season … Sborz (right shoulder) was activated from the injured list. … OF Dustin Harris and IF Matt Duffy were called up from Triple-A Round Rock.
UP NEXT
LHP Brady Basso (1-0, 2.33 ERA) is scheduled to pitch for the A’s in the second game of the series, opposite LHP Cody Bradford (6-3, 3.59 ERA)