OAKLAND -- With only a few days left in their 57-year tenure in Oakland, the A¡¯s entered their final series at the Coliseum looking to provide fans who are saying their goodbyes to their home team with some lasting memories.

Those in the building on Tuesday were treated to one more night they¡¯ll never forget.

A steal of second base by Zack Gelof -- who led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a single -- set the stage for A¡¯s No. 1 prospect Jacob Wilson, who came to the plate against Rangers reliever Josh Sborz with one out and a chance to play hero.

Accompanied by the sounds of banging drums from the right-field bleachers and "Let¡¯s go Oakland!" chants reverberating throughout the stadium from the announced crowd of 30,402 fans that stood in unison, Wilson dug in and wasted no time notching his first career walk-off hit by turning on a first-pitch slider and smacking it up the middle for a single that scored Gelof for a 5-4 victory over Texas.

¡°You look in the stands and see all the fans on their feet pumped up,¡± Wilson said. ¡°Obviously, it¡¯s a pretty emotional week. We¡¯re going to try and make it as special as we can for the fans and the city. Tonight was pretty special.¡±

Since moving from Kansas City to Oakland in 1968, the A¡¯s have developed an identity as a club notorious for late-inning magic at home. According to A¡¯s baseball information manager Mike Selleck, their 485 walk-off victories over that time are the most in the Majors.

So it¡¯s rather fitting that the last series was kicked off in classic Coliseum walk-off fashion.

¡°For those that are here, and I think they¡¯re still out there, that aren¡¯t coming on Thursday, I think that¡¯s a great way to have a memory of a walk-off win for their last home game,¡± said A¡¯s manager Mark Kotsay. ¡°You can feel the sadness as opposed to anger. I just hope that the next two days are equally as enjoyable.¡±

Kotsay was among the many A¡¯s coaches and players who signed as many autographs as possible for early-arriving fans who entered hours before first pitch looking to soak in possibly their last Coliseum experience. Every fan in attendance on Tuesday received a special Final Series Commemorative Ticket.

¡°We signed a lot of tickets,¡± Kotsay said. ¡°The ¡®Let¡¯s go Oakland¡¯ is ingrained in my brain. That¡¯ll never go away, no matter if we¡¯re playing here or if I¡¯m sitting on a porch somewhere retired. I¡¯m always going to be forever grateful for the fans, the memories and the passion they bring in night in and night out.¡±

While these final games feel like anything but your normal three-game series, the A¡¯s are still focused on putting together a strong finish and seeing continued positive development from their young players to build momentum heading into 2025. Gelof is one of those players who appears to be ending on a high note.

Having stolen his 24th base of the year on Tuesday, Gelof is three homers away from producing the first 20-20 season since Coco Crisp in 2013. More importantly, the 24-year-old second baseman is going through his best stretch at the plate after a slow start, as he entered the night batting .266 (41-for-154) over his last 42 games dating back to Aug. 6. Before that, he was hitting .188 through his first 90 games.

¡°There¡¯s been a lot of talk about Zack this year and why we kept him up here,¡± Kotsay said. ¡°You saw tonight, really, why we kept him here. This kid has not changed his attitude. He¡¯s not been impacted by the lack of performance. He¡¯s continued to stay with the process. He continues to work, and he brings the intangibles. We won a game tonight because he stole a base on a 2-2 count.¡±

As much as Gelof is trying to focus on baseball, even he admits it is going to be difficult not to think of the Oakland fans over these next couple of days, especially the final game at the Coliseum on Thursday, which is already sold out with a crowd of more than 40,000 fans expected.

¡°When the people show up, this place rocks,¡± Gelof said. ¡°It¡¯s bittersweet for the fans and the city. ¡­ This city is rich in baseball history. All we can do is go out there and have fun. Play hard for the fans and for the city.¡±