Line score , with the 2018 Astros The Rays took an early lead in the first inning courtesy of a leadoff home run by
Yandy Díaz off Oakland starter
Sean Manaea. Manaea gave up a single to
Matt Duffy to begin the second inning, and
Avisaíl García 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, who combined for four scoreless innings to seal the victory for Tampa Bay. For Oakland, it was their 30th straight year without a title. It was the ninth time from 2000 to 2019 that the Athletics competed in a winner-take-all postseason game, for which they lost all nine. This would be the final MLB playoff game in Oakland with fans in attendance as the Athletics would relocate after the 2024 season (while the Athletics did qualify for the 2020 postseason, all games that season were played without fans due to the
COVID-19 pandemic). ==See also==