Liam Hendriks made history as the first Australian pitcher to start in a MLB post-season game but his Oakland Athletics were beaten 7-2 by the New York Yankees.
Instead of using a traditional starting pitcher in Wednesday's American League wild-card game, the A's opted to mix it up and utilise Hendriks, who allowed two runs in the first inning while throwing 25 pitches before being replaced.
Aaron Judge got the party started for the hosts at Yankee Stadium with a 427-foot two-run homer in the first inning off Hendriks.
Late-season spark Luke Voit added a two-run triple in the sixth while Giancarlo Stanton added a towering home-run drive that just stayed fair in the eighth as the Yankees sealed the win.
They progress to a five-game division series against their great rivals the Boston Red Sox, starting Friday at Fenway Park, while the season is over for Hendriks and the A's.
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The 29-year-old Perth native, one of 33 Australians to have played in the majors, said pre-game that he was thrilled to make history and was honoured to be given the starting role.
"I may be the first (Australian), but I'm hoping I won't be the last," he said.
Hendriks was sent down to the minor leagues before earning a recall to Oakland's 40-man squad in September and making 12 appearances.
The A's dropped their fourth-straight winner-take-all game, ending a 97-win season with their second loss in as many tries in the wild-card game.
