Arizona Diamondbacks at Oakland Athletics: Final Score & Recap

The Oakland Athletics edged the Arizona Diamondbacks 9-8 at Hohokam Stadium on February 26, 2024, in a back-and-forth spring contest that saw the lead change hands multiple times before Oakland ultimately secured the win. The DiamondIQ model opened with Arizona holding a 54% pre-game win probability as the home side, but that figure swung dramatically in the late innings before settling at 100% in Oakland's favor by the final out.

The decisive sequence unfolded across the sixth and ninth innings. In the bottom of the sixth, Hoy Park delivered the single most impactful swing of the game, a home run off Yu-Min Lin that shifted win probability by +37.6%, representing Arizona's strongest individual moment. Oakland answered in the top half of that same inning when Kristian Robinson went deep off Adrián Martinez for a +23.6% swing, and the A's piled on further to outscore Arizona 4-5 in the frame. The ninth inning provided the dramatic conclusion: Kevin Newman's double off Easton Lucas in the top half moved Oakland's chances by +39.9%, though Blaze Alexander's groundout off Lucas cost Arizona 19.7 percentage points. Drew Lugbauer then closed the door in the bottom of the ninth with a home run off Chris Rodriguez, a +41.4% WPA blast that rendered the final result irreversible.

Hoy Park led all position players with a +45.4% WPA and +2.5 RE24, making him the game's most impactful bat despite playing for the losing side. Drew Lugbauer and Kevin Newman were Oakland's catalysts, posting +35.9% and +35.8% WPA respectively. On the mound, Jack O'Loughlin paced Oakland's pitching staff with a +19.3% WPA contribution, supported by Ricky Karcher at +6.3% and Zach Jackson at +5.8%. Arizona finished with 11 hits to Oakland's 10 but committed one error to Oakland's three, and the A's made just enough plays when it mattered to take the final margin.