OAKLAND, Calif. — Playing in front of their biggest — and easily most energized — home crowd of the season, the Oakland A’s remained the hottest team in baseball with a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night.
The A’s won their seventh straight in front of an announced crowd of 27,759 — mostly fans mobilized by a “reverse boycott” event intended to protest owner John Fisher’s handling of the team and efforts to relocate to Las Vegas. Earlier in the day, the potential move to the desert came closer to reality when the Nevada state Senate voted 13-8 to approve up to $380 million in public money for a stadium on the Vegas strip, setting up a vote in the Assembly as soon as Wednesday that could virtually seal the deal.
Much of the crowd was alternating chants of “Let’s Go Oakland!” and “Sell the Team!” from Shintaro Fujinami’s first pitch of the game until reliever Trevor May ended the game by striking out Jose Siri. But the fans, many wearing green T-shirts with a message to Fisher to “Sell” the team across the front, remained standing and cheering long after the A’s descended into the clubhouse.
