New York Yankees 4 – Oakland Athletics 1
The Yankees road trip took them to Northern California to visit the Oakland Athletics.
Kendall Graveman pitched for the A’s and worked around a runner in scoring position in the first inning with a pair of strikeouts. Ivan Nova had his sinker working tonight as he started the game with three ground outs. The game remained scoreless until the third inning.
After the first two outs, Brett Gardner walked to keep the inning alive and Carlos Beltran made the two-out walk count with a double down the left field line, scoring Gardner. On a fly ball that was misplayed by right fielder Josh Reddick, Carlos Beltran made a rare mental lapse in the field when he waited to see if the ball fell in with two outs. By waiting to see what happened in right field, Beltran only advanced one base instead of probably scoring and ultimately was stranded.
After a scoreless third inning by Nova, Josh Reddick got a hold of a hanging inside curveball and put it just deep enough for a solo home run to right field in the fourth inning. Nova gave up a single after that but generated a double play to keep the game tied.
In the fifth inning, Jacoby Ellsbury was hit on the shin with one out and advanced to second on a single by Brett Gardner. After a two-out walk of Brian McCann, Starlin Castro grounded into a fielder’s choice. But in the sixth inning, the Yankees managed to overcome more baserunning mistakes to retake the lead.
After a single by Chase Headley led off the inning, Graveman picked him off of first base for the first out. Dustin Ackley followed with a single. Didi Gregorius hit a single to right field, allowing Ackley to advance to third. While Ackley was safe, Gregorius made a mistake as he tried to advance to second on the throw and was tagged out for the second out of the inning. Despite three hits and two base running mistakes, Aaron Hicks salvaged the inning by lining a double into left field for the go-ahead run.
Ivan Nova provided a scoreless sixth inning to finish his night strong. In six innings, Ivan Nova allowed one run on four hits without a walk and three strikeouts.
He threw 62 pitches and generated 10 ground outs in a strong outing.
For the seventh inning, Dellin Betances took his reserved spot in the game.
After giving up a leadoff single to Josh Reddick, the Oakland outfielder stole second base. But Betances buckled down and struck out the next two before getting a lazy pop up to third base for the last out.
For the eighth inning, Andrew Miller took on his role. Placing a strikeout between two ground outs, Miller kept building the bridge to closer Aroldis Chapman. Before Chapman entered, Brett Gardner walked with two outs and Carlos Beltran provided some insurance when he belted a two-run home run into the right field seats. In the ninth inning, Aroldis Chapman gave up a leadoff single but settled back down striking out two of the last three batters of the game to lock up his save and the Yankees second win in a row.
Win – Ivan Nova (2-1)
Loss – Kendall Graveman (1-6)
Save – Aroldis Chapman (5)
Notables
Yankees
*Aaron Hicks – 1 for 4, 2B, RBI (9)
*Carlos Beltran – 2 for 5, R, 2B, Two-run home run (9) in the 8th, 3 RBI (22)
Athletics
*Josh Reddick – 2 for 3, R, Solo home run (5) in the 4th, RBI (18)
*Stephen Vogt – 2 for 3
Current Yankees Record: 18-22
