Rays beat A’s 5-1 in AL wild-card game, will face Astros

By Janie McCauley The Associated Press

5 years ago

Tampa Bay Rays' Tommy Pham (29) hits a solo home run against the Oakland Athletics during the f ... — Tampa Bay Rays’ Tommy Pham (29) hits a solo home run against the Oakland Athletics during the fifth inning of an American League wild-card baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Sean Manaea throws against the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning of an American League wild-card baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Fans at RingCentral Coliseum watch as Oakland Athletics pitcher Sean Manaea (55) throws to a Tampa Bay Rays batter during the first inning of an American League wild-card baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Tampa Bay Rays’ Tommy Pham, right, is congratulated by Austin Meadows after hitting a solo home run against the Oakland Athletics during the fifth inning of an American League wild-card baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Oakland Athletics pitcher Sean Manaea (55) throws to a Tampa Bay Rays batter during the first inning of an American League wild-card baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Charlie Morton throws to an Oakland Athletics batter during the first inning of an American League wild-card baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Musician M.C. Hammer throws out the ceremonial first pitch before an American League wild-card baseball game between the Oakland Athletics and the Tampa Bay Rays in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Tampa Bay Rays’ Tommy Pham, right, is congratulated by teammates after hitting a solo home run against the Oakland Athletics during the fifth inning of an American League wild-card baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

OAKLAND, Calif. — Yandy Diaz slugged baseball’s lowest spender into a matchup with mighty Houston, Charlie Morton silenced the powerful Athletics on the mound, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat Oakland at its own game 5-1 in the AL wild-card round Wednesday night.

Diaz hit a leadoff homer and went deep again in the third inning. Avisail Garcia hit a two-run drive in the second, and Morton had all the support he needed as Tampa Bay advanced to face the AL West champion Astros in a best-of-five Division Series after Houston won a major league-best 107 games this season.

Tommy Pham homered in the fifth for the 96-win Rays, who had the smallest payroll in the majors at $66.4 million. They were unfazed by the towel-swirling Oakland home crowd of 54,005 that established a wild-card record, having recently played at Dodger Stadium and also on the road against the Yankees and Red Sox in the season’s final two weeks.

The Rays raced out of their dugout to celebrate when Marcus Semien struck out to end it, and then started putting on fresh playoff T-shirts and caps.