West Coast trips stink. Unless you’re one of the many Yankees fans who live out west, I think a lot of us can agree on that. When they win, it’s chill, especially if it’s a relative blowout like last night where you could catch some shut-eye a little early.
When they lose, you just feel like you stayed up for nothing. This one wrapped up around one in the morning on the East Coast and I kinda wish I just went to bed after learning the Knicks will face the Spurs in the NBA Finals on Wednesday.
The story of tonight’s game was the power of the (Sacramento) Athletics. A lineup that can be truly scary at times showed why, as they took what was overall a pretty solid night from Ryan Weathers and completely wrecked his line with a trio of long home runs to center field. Couple that with an offense that blew some opportunities early and couldn’t finish off a marathon rally in the ninth, and you get a 6-4 defeat to set up a rubber game tomorrow afternoon.
Ben Rice got things started for the Yankees’ offense with a one-out single in the first off J.T. Ginn, but was erased on a 5-4-3 double play off the bat of Aaron Judge. Weathers took the bump in the bottom half and gave up a fair amount of hard contact, including an absolute bomb off the bat of Shea “Bangeliers” Langeliers to dead center to give the A’s a quick 2-0 lead.
The second went in a similar fashion for the Yanks, as Paul Goldschmidt ripped a single with two outs before being stranded. Weathers induced more soft contact in a 1-2-3 second. Both teams got a baserunner in the third on an Austin Wells single and Langeliers walk, but both pitchers had settled into a groove.
By the time the fourth came around, the Yankees were able to take advantage of the Athletics’ poor defense. Ginn walked Cody Bellinger with one out before giving up a single to Jazz Chisholm Jr. A bad hop caused Henry Bolte to boot it in center field, allowing Bellinger to advance to third.
That proved costly, as Chisholm bolted for second a few pitches later and forced an E4 on a stolen base that scored Bellinger and got Jazz to third with one out. A Goldschmidt walk set up runners on the corners in a prime position to tie or take the lead, but Ryan McMahon struck out, and Wells flew out to get Ginn out of trouble, but not before the Yankees cut the deficit to one. Weathers’ strikeout stuff came back to him in the bottom half, striking out a pair after a leadoff walk.
After coming oh-so-close to tying the game in the fourth, the Yankees somehow managed to get even closer in the fifth. A two-out walk by Rice set up Judge for the third time through, and the three-time MVP put a charge into a fastball and sent it to deep right field, only for it to be caught at the wall. That ball is a home run in 16 ballparks, including Yankee Stadium. Ouch
Ginn wrapped up six strong innings with a 1-2-3 sixth, while his offense added some extra insurance. Weathers was in a groove into the sixth inning after allowing the early home run, but was tagged by Tyler Soderstrom with one out to deep right-center field for a solo shot, making it 3-1.
Ginn was finally lifted after six for the lefty Hogan Harris. Ryan McMahon, who was taking the at-bat because Amed Rosario left on paternity leave, ripped a leadoff single. After a pinch-hitting José Caballero and Anthony Volpe were both retired, Trent Grisham worked a walk to set up Rice with the tying run on first. Despite working a full count, the third of the inning, Harris’ slow, looping curveball neutralized him the same way it did with Caballero earlier in the inning, ending the threat.
Despite his pitch count climbing, Weathers remained in the game and appeared to be on the verge of completing seven strong innings, but he lost Colby Thomas with two away, prompting a visit from Aaron Boone. With the powerful lefty Nick Kurtz due up, the Yankees’ skipper elected to stay with his laboring left-hander, hoping he had enough in the tank to get him out, rather than go to Camilo Doval.
Sometimes, the ol’ “fake manager hook” works. Sometimes, it doesn’t.
It didn’t work this time.
The Big Amish obliterated the first pitch he saw for a dagger home run that knocked him out after a career-high 107 pitches. 5-1 A’s.
Weathers pitched better than his line of 6.2 innings and five runs allowed, but you are what your numbers say you are. The Athletics can slug, and Weathers gave up three long homers. It happens, but the 10 strikeouts and the ability to grind past 100 pitches are the parts that encourage you here.
Justin Sterner got the eighth for the A’s and sat down the heart of the order 1-2-3. Jake Bird got the eighth and immediately got in trouble, plunking Henry Bolte and allowing a double to Soderstrom. After a strikeout, Zack Gelof lined a two-strike RBI single to left to extend the lead to 6-1. Fortunately, the rally stopped there after some bad baserunning from the A’s, coupled with all-around head’s-up defense, led to a *checks notes* 5-2-6-4-5 double play.
Jack Perkins came on to get the final three outs for the Athletics, but despite the five-run lead, it was never that simple. McMahon blooped a one-out single, Escarra worked a walk, and Grisham extended the game with a walk of his own. With the bases loaded, Mark Kotsay turned to Scott Barlow, who walked Rice to bring in a run and bring up Judge as the tying run.
The game got really interesting as Barlow straight up refused to throw strikes with the heart of the order just one swing away from tying the game. He walked Judge and Bellinger to force in another two runs before Chisholm took two called strikes and then finally put one in play. He was jammed on a 2-2 fastball on the inside part of the plate, grounding out to first and stranding the tying run on second.
The final game of the six-game road trip is a much easier watch for those on the East Coast, as the Yankees play the rubber game against the A’s tomorrow at 4:05 pm EST on YES. The pitching matchup will feature Will Warren against lefty Jacob Lopez, who was just announced a few minutes ago.