September 26, 2024; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics players salute the crowd after the game against the Texas Rangers at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images The Athletics have said goodbye to Oakland, but they still have some work to do.
The Athletics will open a late-season three-game series against the host Seattle Mariners on Friday night.
The opener isn't expected to draw much attention, as the Athletics (69-90) posted a thrilling 3-2 victory over Texans in the finals Thursday at the Oakland Coliseum, their home since 1968. Sri Lanka team.
The Athletics plan to move to Las Vegas, play the next three seasons in Sacramento and hope to open a ballpark in Sin City in 2028.
“I'm forever grateful to the staff that dedicated their lives to the Oakland Athletics, especially those who didn't go with us,” Oakland Athletics manager Mark Kotsay told the crowd after the game. “I will never forget you.”
A's fans chanted “Sell the team!” and “Let's go to Oakland!”
“I've never been to a World Series before, but I feel like today is one of those days where you can experience that emotion,” Cosey said before the game. “Driving over today, seeing the parking lot full and feeling the energy and emotion, it's something I'll cherish for the rest of my life.”
The Mariners (82-77) led the AL West by 10 games in mid-June but were eliminated from the wild-card race as the Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers both struggled to win on the off day.
“That's not how you go into the tournament, you just want to be there,” Mariners designated hitter/reserve catcher Mitch Garver said after Wednesday's 8-1 win over Houston that kept Seattle's hopes alive for one day.
At least the Mariners offense has shown signs of life since Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez returned as hitting coach late last month after Dan Wilson was named manager.
The Mariners are batting .275 over their past 15 games, leading the American League.
“I think there's obviously time in the offseason to reflect,” Wilson said earlier this week. “I think we've seen some good results from what (Martinez) has done, what he's brought to the table and some of the distasteful things that have happened.”
Julio Rodriguez, in a season-long slump, hit four home runs in six games on the team's final trip of the season, including his 20th of the season Home runs. He hit .336 in September after hitting .234 in August.
“I feel like I worked really hard this year and I never stopped,” said Rodriguez, the reigning American League Player of the Week. “I went through some tough times and I felt like other people might have taken a different route…I just kept working hard and now I'm able to come up with some really cool results.”
As for the final series, left-hander JP Sears (11-12, 4.43 ERA) is scheduled to start for the A's on Friday. The Mariners have yet to announce who will play in the series opener.
Sears is 0-3 with a 5.87 ERA in four starts this month, including a 16-3 loss to visiting Seattle on Sept. 4 when he allowed five runs in six innings. . After Sears left, the Mariners went on to score seven more runs in the seventh inning and four more in the eighth. Sears has faced the M's eight times in his career, including seven starts, and is 2-3 with a 2.62 ERA.
–Scene-level media