Oakland Athletics 7 – New York Yankees 3
The Yankees looked to prevent the sweep at the hands of the visiting Oakland Athletics.
The A’s and the Yankees went scoreless in the first inning but Luis Severino was helped out with a great diving grab in right center field by Jacoby Ellsbury but A’s starter Rich Hill struck out the side. In the second inning, Rich Hill lost the plate when he walked the first two batters. After a strange ground out put runners into scoring position, Aaron Hicks did what the Yankees have struggled to do, hit. The run-scoring bloop single by Aaron Hicks put the Yankees ahead by one but a pair of strikeouts cut the rally to just one.
Severino pitched three scoreless before the fourth inning haunted another Yankees starter. Josh Reddick led off with a double before Jed Lowrie tied the game with a run-scoring single. Severino was given a defensive gem of assistance in the outfield when Aaron Hicks climbed the wall in left field foul territory and snagged an out. Severino found life in the first out of the inning by striking out the next two batters to keep the game tied.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Two walks and a throwing error came back to haunt Hill when Austin Romine came through with runners in scoring position by hitting an infield single , tying the game at two.
In the sixth inning, it looked like Severino was going to be in trouble from the first batter when Jed Lowrie hit a single down the left field line but Aaron Hicks defends left field and unleashed his cannon of an arm to throw Lowrie out at second base with ease for the first out of the last inning for Severino’s start.
In six innings, Luis Severino allowed two runs on seven hits without a walk and four strikeouts.
Recently the bullpen has started to show some weakness and it was evident quickly in the seventh inning for reliever Chasen Shreve. On the first pitch to Khris Davis, a home run was put into left center field to break the 2-2 tie. On the very next pitch, Coco Crisp went back-to-back with Davis to extend the A’s to a two-run lead. Shreve finished off the inning but the damage was done.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, pinch-hitter Brett Gardner walked against reliever Fernando Rodriguez and scored after Jacoby Ellsbury and Starlin Castro hit a pair of two-out singles to bring them within one.
Unfortunately, the cracks in the bullpen continued showing when Johnny Barbato issued a two-out walk that came back to haunt the Yankees when Chris Coghlan went deep to right field for a two-run home run. The A’s added a run in the ninth inning against Kirby Yates, putting them ahead by four.
The Yankees got a pair of singles in the ninth inning but could not make it amount to any runs as the Yankees lost tonight’s game, completing a sweep to the Oakland Athletics.
The Yankees have lost seven of their last eight games.
Win – Rich Hill (2-2)
Loss – Chasen Shreve (1-1)
Save – Ryan Madson (6)
Notables
Athletics
*Coco Crisp – 2 for 3, 2 R, BB, Solo home run (2) in the 7th, RBI (2)
*Khris Davis – 1 for 4, R, Solo home run (1) in the 7th, RBI (4)
Yankees
*Aaron Hicks – 1 for 1, BB, RBI (2)
*Austin Romine – 1 for 2, RBI (1)
Current Yankees Record: 5-9
