OAKLAND -- New year, same result.
The A's lost their MLB-record ninth consecutive winner-take-all game Wednesday night, falling 5-1 to the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL Wild Card Game at the Coliseum. It was Oakland's third loss in three wild-card games, including each of the last two seasons.
"It's frustrating," A's manager Bob Melvin acknowledged after the loss. "It's very sudden. In baseball, you usually have a series to kind of have a tomorrow and come back and win a game. We've been really good this year about having a tough game and coming back and responding.