Both clubs came in having split the first two games of this set, with the Athletics having taken the opener on a walk-off, so nothing about the price reflected a lopsided series to that point.
Toronto's rotation has been gutted all year — Bieber, Taillon, Yesavage, Corbin and Berrios have all spent time on the injured list — which is why a reliever like Fisher was opening games in September for a team still fighting for October.
That split series backdrop meant this finale carried real stakes for a Toronto club trying to close out the head-to-head set on a positive note.
None of that mattered once the game started. The Athletics scratched across single runs in back-to-back innings and made it stand, needing only 4 hits while a Toronto lineup that had won its last game before this one managed 6 hits and nothing to show for them.
The Polymarket chat room ran well above its usual crowd for an Athletics game, and by the finish one poster summed up the mood simply: 'Thanks for the easy money kids.' It was Basso, not Fisher, who came out the better arm, and the Athletics moved ahead in this set instead of the wild-card hopeful that walked in as the favorite.