New York Yankees lose to Oakland Athletics 4-5 – MLB Update
New York Yankees were beaten by the Oakland Athletics 4-5 at Yankee Stadium in New York on Sunday, September 23 in the finale of their three match series.
Starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda played a big part in deciding the outcome of the clash as he gave up just seven hits and five runs in five plus innings to keep Yankees in the contest.
Kuroda was supported by Clay Rapada, David Phelps, Boone Logan and Cody Eppley who combined to pitch three plus scoreless innings but the A’s were too hot to handle on Sunday.
"We control what happens," Derek Jeter said. "We play how we're capable of, we win our games. We really don't have to look at the scoreboard."
For the A’s, starter A.J. Griffin allowed seven hits and four runs in just over four innings. Relief pitcher Jerry Blevins claimed his fifth win of the season after conceding just one hit in 1.1 innings.
After Oakland took the early lead, Nick Swisher homered to right in the fourth inning to put Yankees on the board. Raul Ibanez added a double to right in the fourth to level the score 3-3 as the match entered a very gripping phase.
Yoenis Cespedes singled to right centre in the fifth and Carlos Pennington delivered the tie breaking single in the sixth to give Oakland a much needed victory.
"To lose two games in extra innings is tough, especially when these games mean so much," Pennington said. "It was really still just another game, but it was a big one."
"Rarely do you lose a game like you did last night, and I think coming back from something like that and scoring early in the game showed some fight right away," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "It was a big game."
Yankees’ Manager Joe Girardi will be very disappointed with the outcome of the clash. After securing comfortable wins in first two games of the series, New York had an excellent chance to wrap up a memorable sweep against their American League rivals.
Credit should be given to the Athletics for showing great fighting abilities under pressure. It will be interesting to see if the A’s can extend their winning streak to reach the playoffs.
Tags: