New York Yankees 3 — Oakland Athletics 4
Yoenis Cespedes’ two-run bomb led the Yankees to a 4-3 loss to the Oakland Athletics.
Freddy Garcia had moments where he struggled in his 5.2 innings of work. The 1st inning was especially difficult as Cuban rookie Yoenis Cespedes got an idea of the speed on a slow curveball and hit one low and out of the zone deep into left field. A two-run single in the 3rd inning by Seth Smith brought in the last runs he would allow. Garcia struggled with keeping the Athletics off the plate as he allowed 9 hits and walked 2 but did keep the Yankees in the game. David Phelps, recently recalled from Triple-A, pitched an outstanding 2.1 innings in relief. His entire outing was perfect with 4 strikeouts as he had his two-seam fastball bending back over to fool left-handed batters.
The Yankees offense had a difficult time with rookie A.J. Griffin. The Yankees made a threat of early offense in the 1st but couldn’t score. From the 2nd inning to the 5th inning, Griffin retired 11 consecutive Yankees. The offense finally put it together in the 6th inning when three singles loaded the bases. One of these singles was by Robinson Cano, extending his hitting streak to 23 games. Mark Teixeira would bring in one on a sacrifice fly and Nick Swisher would single in another run to cut the deficit in half. The Yankees would be shut down until the 9th inning against All-Star closer Ryan Cook. The Yankees came into tonight’s game with a 42-game streak of 3 or more runs. Nick Swisher would extend the streak to 43 when he hit the first career home run that Ryan Cook gave up in the 9th inning. Unfortunately, the Yankees could not get the tying run across and would lose to the Athletics in Oakland for the first time in two years.
Win – A.J. Griffin (2-0)
Loss – Freddy Garcia (4-3)
Save – Ryan Cook (10)
Notable
Yankees
*Nick Swisher – 2 for 4, R, Solo Home Run (14) in the 9th, 2 RBI (54)
*Derek Jeter – 2 for 4, R
Athletics
*Yoenis Cespedes – 2 for 3, R, BB, 2-Run Home Run (12) in the 1st, 2 RBI (44)
*Seth Smith – 1 for 4, 2 RBI (32)
Current Yankees Record: 57-35
