The Athletics and New York Yankees closed out their weekend series on a beautiful Sunday afternoon at Sutter Health Park. The Yankees capitalized on another horrible start from A’s pitcher Jacob Lopez, scoring 13 runs in one inning and then holding off the A’s late comeback attempt to prevail 13-8, winning the series and moving the A’s into a tie for second place with the Texas Rangers.
A’s Strike First
Athletics’ right fielder Carlos Cortes led off the bottom of the opening frame with a booming double to left against Yankees starting pitcher Will Warren. With two on and two outs, A’s catcher Jonah Heim reached on Yankees’ center fielder Trent Grisham’s fielding error, both runners scoring on the outfielder’s mishap. Heim proceeded to score on A’s center fielder Lawrence Butler’s RBI single to left field. Butler finally came through with a big hit, giving the hosts a 3-0 lead at the end of the first inning.
A’s starting pitcher Jacob Lopez began the game with two straight scoreless innings, getting two contested strikeouts thanks to the new ABS system.
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A’s Pitching Rears its Ugly Head
The Yankees developed their first rally in the top of the third. The visitors led off the inning with a single and two walks to load the bases. Lopez’s command issues reared its head once again. Yankees’ first baseman Paul Goldschmidt hit an RBI infield single and then designated hitter Ben Rice tied the game with a two-run double down the first-base line. One batter later, New York took the lead on Judge’s single that fell in front of Butler in center.
Lopez did not record an out in the third inning. A’s manager Mark Kotsay took him out after his starter allowed four runs on five hits along with a couple of walks to blow his team’s 3-0 advantage.
Newly recalled reliever Michael Kelly replaced Lopez with the bases loaded, zero outs, and the A’s down 4-3. He walked his first batter on four pitches and then gave up Grisham’s two-run single.
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The Yankees kept the parade going as former A’s player Max Schuemann lined a double off Kelly to bring home his team’s ninth and tenth runs of the inning. The A’s set the high-water mark in MLB history for the most runs scored without getting an out. A few batters later, Rice crushed a two-run triple to make it a twelve-run inning, the most runs the A’s have allowed in an inning since 1983.
Kelly only got two outs, allowing six more runs as the Yankees batted around twice in one inning. The A’s pitching staff made all kinds of wrong history, but they were not helped by their outfield defense as Cortes and Butler missed a couple of catchable balls.
Fellow right-handed reliever Jack Perkins replaced Kelly, retiring the first batter he faced to end arguably the worst-pitched inning in Athletics franchise history. The inning lasted so long (48 minutes) that Warren went to the bullpen to warm up and stay fresh.
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Yankees Cruising Along to Victory
Facing a ten-run deficit, the A’s offense sought to chip away. First baseman Nick Kurtz and Soderstrom hit back-to-back singles, but Warren escaped the jam unscathed by getting Heim and Butler out. The Yankees’ catcher tagged Butler at home plate as Butler just stood there thinking that the ball was foul.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Athletics stranded two more runners. Designated hitter Brent Rooker’s one-out bloop double will hopefully get his bat going as the A’s need more from their struggling slugger. Through five innings, the hosts had plenty of chances to score, yet went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
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A’s Offense Fights Back
Meanwhile, Warren shut down the A’s offense, allowing only three unearned runs on six hits over six innings. Yankees’ left-handed reliever Tim Hill replaced him in the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Rooker launched his eighth home run of the season, a solo blast to left-center, giving the A’s their first run since the first inning.
The A’s were not done against Hill. After Kurtz walked and pinch-hitter Henry Bolte was hit by a pitch, Heim swatted his second home run of the season, a three-run shot to right-center. His first long ball in an A’s uniform cut his team’s deficit to six.
A’s shortstop Darell Hernaiz began the eighth with a double off New York reliever Fernando Cruz, setting the table for the top of the lineup. With two outs, Kurtz delivered a booming double that scored Hernaiz, bringing home the A’s eighth run of the high-scoring game.
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While the Athletics offense fought its way back into this matchup, the team’s bullpen held the Yankees hitless the rest of the game. After struggling last night, Perkins bounced back with 2 1/3 scoreless innings, though the circumstances were much different. A few innings later, A’s reliever Luis Medina continued his impressive relief work, recording four strikeouts over two dominant scoreless innings.
Down five runs in the bottom of the ninth, the Athletics put two runners aboard against Yankees closer David Bednar, but he slammed the door on their comeback bid.
In the wake of a 1-5 homestand, the A’s return to the road to kick off a new month. The team gets a day off in Chicago tomorrow. On Tuesday, the Athletics will start a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs. Left-hander Gage Jump will make his second MLB start. He will be opposed by Cubs’ right-hander Jameson Taillon, who is 2-4 with a 5.37 ERA in 11 starts this season.
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