The 2019 American League Wild Card Game was a play-in game during Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2019 postseason contested between the American League's two wild card teams, the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

and Tampa Bay Rays. It was played on October 2, with Tampa Bay advancing to the American League Division Series to face the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

. The game was televised nationally by ESPN, and was sponsored by Hankook Tire for the second straight year. An alternate telecast, featuring

Statcast Statcast is a high-speed, high-accuracy, automated tool developed to analyze player movements and athletic abilities in Major League Baseball (MLB). Statcast was introduced to all thirty MLB stadiums in 2015, a year now considered the beginning ...

analytics and sponsored by Amazon Web Services, aired on ESPN2. The game set the record for the highest attendance at a wild card game with an attendance of 54,005. For the third straight year, Major League Baseball sold presenting sponsorships to all of its postseason series; as with the 2019 NL Wild Card Game, this wild-card game was again presented by sponsor Hankook Tire and officially known as the 2019 American League Wild Card Game presented by Hankook Tire.

Background

Oakland entered the game with a 97–65 record, while Tampa Bay was 96–66. They met seven times during the regular season, with Oakland winning the season series 4–3. The

secured a berth in the Wild Card Game on September 27. The Athletics finished second in the American League West, behind the

. Oakland secured home field advantage on September 28. This was Oakland's third postseason appearance as a wild card team. They previously appeared in the

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and

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Wild Card Games, losing both. The Tampa Bay Rays also secured a Wild Card berth on September 27. They finished second in the American League East, behind the New York Yankees. This was Tampa Bay's third postseason appearance as a wild card team. They previously appeared in one Wild Card Game, a win in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

Game results

Line score

The Rays took an early lead in the first inning courtesy of a leadoff home run by

Yandy Díaz Yandy Díaz Fernández (born August 8, 1991) is a Cuban-born professional baseball third baseman and first baseman for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Cleveland Indians. Cuban career Diaz played ...

off Oakland starter

Sean Manaea Sean Anthony Manaea ( ; born February 1, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Oakland Athletics and San Diego Padres. He played co ...

. Manaea gave up a single to

Matt Duffy Matthew Michael Duffy (born January 15, 1991), nicknamed "Duffman", is an American professional baseball third baseman who is a free agent. He played college baseball at Long Beach State. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) f ...

to begin the second inning, and

Avisaíl García Avisaíl Antonio García Yaguarin (; born June 12, 1991) is a Venezuelan professional baseball right fielder for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, Tampa Bay ...

promptly homered to extend Tampa Bay's lead to 3–0. When Manaea gave up another home run to Díaz in the third inning, he was lifted in favor of Yusmeiro Petit. The Athletics scored their lone run of the game in the bottom of the third, when a throwing error by Mike Brosseau allowed Marcus Semien to reach third base and Ramón Laureano drove him in with a sacrifice fly. However, Tommy Pham's fifth inning home run off Petit again gave the Rays a four-run lead. Charlie Morton was relieved after the bottom of the fifth by Diego Castillo, Nick Anderson, and

Emilio Pagán Emilio Enrique Pagán (born May 7, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Tampa Bay Rays, Seattle Mariners, Oakland Athletics and San Diego Padres. ...

, who combined for four scoreless innings to seal the victory for Tampa Bay. For Oakland, it was their 30th straight year without a title.

References

External links

Major League Baseball postseason schedule
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American League Wild Card Game The Wild Card Series (formerly known as Wild Card Game from 2012 to 2019 and in 2021) are games that serve as the opening round of the Major League Baseball (MLB) postseason. A single wild card game was first instituted in 2012; best-of-three ...

Major League Baseball Wild Card Game American League Wild Card Oakland Athletics postseason Tampa Bay Rays postseason 2010s in Oakland, California 2019 in sports in California

Background

Game results

Line score

See also

References

Further reading

External links