The Detroit Tigers were close, but faltered in the eighth inning for their 16th loss in 19 games.
Down 3-0 after the first inning, the Tigers clawed their way back, scoring two in the fifth and one in the sixth to tie it.
But this time it was the bullpen — which entered Thursday with a 2.71 ERA that ranked third in the majors — that couldn't finish the job.
With two outs in the eighth, Oakland's Jed Lowrie worked a walk off Michael Fulmer. The next batter, Seth Brown, sent a 3-2 pitch into the right-field bleachers to set the final score at 5-3.