The Yankees fought their way back from a 4-1 hole to defeat the Oakland A’s 7-5 on Saturday afternoon.
Here are some key takeaways …
– Tony Kemp greeted Domingo German early with a first-inning home run to put the Yankees down 1-0. The left-handed hitter turned around a fastball and blasted it deep to right-center for the solo shot, his fourth of the season and second of the series.
– Despite the first two Yankees batters reaching in the bottom of the second, they remained off the scoreboard thanks to a double play off the bat of Gio Urshela and a flyout from Rougned Odor. The A’s would then tack on another run in the top of fourth, as Matt Chapman’s solo home run made it a 2-0 game.
– In the bottom of the fourth, Urshela delivered with a two-out RBI single to score Aaron Judge and make it a 2-1 game. Next up, Odor launched a ball down the right-field line, but it landed just foul, ending up a few feet away from a go-ahead three-run homer. Instead, Odor went down swinging to end the inning.
– German’s day got off to a decent start, but the A’s jumped on him in the top of the fifth inning. After the first three batters all reached, Matt Olson drove in a pair with a single up the middle, making it a 4-1 game and ending German’s afternoon. The righty went 4.0+ innings, allowing four earned on seven hits with six strikeouts and two walks.
Thanks to Nestor Cortes, though, the Yankees got out of a first-and-third, no-out jam with no further damage. Cortes was outstanding, going three scoreless innings to keep the Yankees in the game.
– Gary Sanchez cut the A’s lead to 4-2 in the bottom of the sixth, as he demolished a solo home run off of Chris Bassitt. Sanchez’s homer was his sixth in his last 19 games.
– Clint Frazier had a pair of doubles on the afternoon, including a leadoff two-bagger in the bottom of the seventh. Just as it looked like Frazier might be stranded on the bases again, Judge drove him in with a two-out RBI single to make it a one-run game.
Later in the inning, it was Giancarlo Stanton‘s turn to come up clutch, as he laced a single the other way to score Judge and tie the game.
– Urshela finally put the Yankees ahead in the bottom of the eighth, blasting a solo home run to dead center off of Jesus Luzardo to put the Yankees ahead 5-4. LeMahieu added on some insurance later in the inning, poking a two-run single off of Sergio Romo to make it a 7-4 game.
– Aroldis Chapman issued a one-out walk in the ninth, and Aaron Boone was none too happy about the strike zone, as he was tossed for voicing his displeasure. Chapman allowed a couple of men to reach in the inning, bringing the tying run to the plate, and Ramon Laureano delivered with an RBI single to make it 7-5. But Chapman would lock down the win by pumping a 103 mph fastball past Chapman for the final out.
Highlights
What’s next
The Yankees and A’s round out their three-game series on Sunday afternoon at 1:05 p.m.
It will be a battle of lefties, as Jordan Montgomery faces Sean Manaea.