New York Yankees lose 1-2 in thrilling contest against Oakland Athletics – MLB Update
New York Yankees continued to slide down as they lost to the Oakland Athletics 1-2 at O.co Coliseum in Oakland, California on Saturday, July 21 in third game of their four match series of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
Joe Girardi and company got a taste of their own medicine as they took their third straight loss on Saturday to lose the series. Credit should be given to the A’s, who have played out of their skins over the last couple of weeks.
Raul Ibanez earned an RBI single to centre in the fourth inning to score New York’s only run. Yoenis Cespedes homered to left in the fourth to level score instantly for the Athletics. Former Detroit Tigers’ third baseman hit the go ahead home-run in the
eighth inning to give Oakland a crucial 2-1 lead, which lasted until the end.
"What you guys see right now is what we feel," Inge said in a post game interview. "As far as things in this clubhouse, we're having a blast. I think that's leading to a lot of wins."
"If the playoffs started tomorrow," Cespedes said in Spanish, "You better be careful against the Oakland A's."
Relief pitcher Sean Doolittle gave up just a hit in the ninth to hold off the Yankees, picking up his first save of the season. Yankees’ starting pitcher, Phil Hughes gave up just four hits and two runs in seven plus solid innings but he was outpitched by
Oakland’s starter Jarrod Parker.
"I just made one too many mistakes," Hughes said. "I thought my command was very good. It was just two mistakes."
"That was fun," Doolittle said. "That was right up there with my debut. That was a rush."
With their three consecutive wins, the A’s have improved their record to 50-44 and they now have an excellent chance to grab a potential play-off spot.
Not many expected them to dominate the American League East Division leaders. It will be exciting to see if Oakland can continue this impressive winning streak to secure a rare series sweep against the mighty Yankees.
Oakland is definitely turning out to be one of the teams to watch out for during this crucial stage of the regular season as they are playing with aggression and seem to be getting positive results.
Tags: