Oakland A's Walk Off, Again, in Front of Energetic Fans

Jason Burke | Sep 7, 2024

Sep 6, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics left fielder Seth Brown (center) reacts as right fielder Lawrence Butler (4) and catcher Shea Langeliers (23) dumps water and Gatorade after defeating the Detroit Tigers at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

For the third time in five games this homestand, the Oakland A's won in walk-off fashion. Seth Brown played the hero twice on Friday night, belting a game-tying two-run shot in the bottom of the 11th inning, and then a game-winning single down the right field line in the bottom of the 13th.

The win felt inevitable after the A's and Detroit Tigers entered extra innings tied at two apiece, then traded runs in the 10th, 11th, and 12th, before Brown finally walked it off before a crowd of 14,669. Shortstop Jacob Wilson said after the game "we were matching 'em with those ones, with those twos, and then we put up the zero, and we're like 'alright, now's our time.' Once we put up the zero, it was pretty electric in the dugout."

A's manager Mark Kotsay was a big fan of the atmosphere at the Coliseum throughout the game. "Great atmosphere tonight. I don't want to say that it's not going to be that same atmosphere next year [in Sacramento] cause we just don't know. There's something about this place that's special when [the fans] come out and when they get behind us. Tonight was one of those nights. You just felt the energy continue to build. They didn't leave when we went down two in extra innings. They kept believing and this is one of the better wins for us this year."

The A's were tasked with facing one of the front-runners for the AL Cy Young, left-hander Tarik Skubal. After playing a four-game series against the Seattle Mariners and the best rotation in baseball, Oakland was tasked yet again with facing one of the best starters in the game, and they held their own, collecting two runs on nine hits, and pushing the Tigers ace off the mound before he could finish six frames. The nine hits allowed are the second-most from Skubal this season, who gave up ten hits to the Cleveland Guardians in July.

Right fielder Lawrence Butler not only got the start against the tough lefty, but he also went 2-for-3. JJ Bleday, the only other lefty in the lineup to begin the game, technically went 1-for-3 in the game, though one ball that fell in and led to him landing on base, but there was a baserunning blunder ahead of him that turned it into a 9-6 put-out in the scorebook.

This A's team is building something, and winning late against teams with playoff aspirations is a great sign for what is to come as they continue to grow.

Jacob Wilson also collected his first multi-hit performance as a big leaguer, going 2-for-4 with a triple and an RBI. He dropped a ball down the right field line for a triple to score Zack Gelof in the bottom of the fifth, which was off Skubal.