HOUSTON – The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Oakland A's 5-1 in the American League Wild Card Game on Wednesday night, securing their place in the American League Division Series against the Astros.
Game 1 of the series will take place Friday at Minute Maid Park.
Recommended Videos
Tampa Bay won the game in Oakland.
Familiar face Charlie Morton started the game, tossing 5 innings of one-run ball. Tampa Bay's bullpen took over from there, firing four shutout innings to end Oakland's season.
Oakland fell in an early hole, giving up a leadoff homer to Rays first baseman Yandy Diaz. Diaz added another solo homer in the third inning.
Tampa Bay homered four times in the game.
A's starter Sean Manaea lasted only 2 innings, allowing four runs.
The Astros opened the season against the Rays, dropping three of four games in the Sunshine State. Houston then won two of three at Minute Maid Park in late August.
It's worth noting that the Astros outscored the Rays 40-27 in their matchups this season. The biggest win came when Houston won 15-1 on Aug. 27, a game in which Justin Verlander, Houston's Game 1 starter, faced off against Morton, who will likely be unavailable Friday after throwing 94 pitches in the win Wednesday.