The Oakland A's have been one of the hottest teams in baseball after the All-Star break and greeted the Yanks on their last visit to the Oakland Colosseum with a miserable four-game sweep. When the Yanks saw their schedule at the beginning of this season, the match-up must have appeared to be a breeze to help close out the season, but now playoff implications were on the line with Oakland a possible threat for a Wild Card spot if in case the Orioles knock the Yanks out of the AL East crown, which is too a strong possibility.
CC Sabathia hasn't quite been himself in 2012, and with two DL stints for a pitcher who is never on the DL, the Yankees had to be concerned they wouldn't be able to count on their ace for the remainder of the season to dominate the way he's done it before. With better control and more velocity this time, Sabathia delivered an ace-like performance with 8 shutout innings that included 11 strikeouts. Opposing pitcher Jarod Parker also went 8 inning, but unlike Sabathia, he gave up a run in the 4th inning from a Granderson sacrifice fly that brought home Swisher. With a high pitch-count and it being a save situation, Girardi called for Rafael Soriano to take the ball in the 9th. With one out, Oakland pinch-hit Brandon Moss and the lefty-hitter took a hanging slider from Soriano and sent it into the second deck in right for a dramatic game-tying homer. Soriano would get out of the inning without giving up anymore runs, but the Yankees were being put to task in extra innings where they haven't been too successful this season. Hard-throwing Oakland lefty Sean Doolittle worked the 9th unscathed and came out again for the 10th. That's when Russell Martin connected on one that went over the left field wall for a walk-off 2-1 Yankees win minus the AJ Burnett pie job after.
The next game would start out with Ivan Nova looking to build upon his good start off the DL facing Tampa Bay against Travis Blackey, but nearly six hours later it would conclude as one of the most unlikely wins in Yankees history. Both starters were ineffective with Nova getting slapped around for doubles for two runs in the 1st inning, only to have the Yankees score three off of Blackey, started off with a solo homer from the hot-hitting Ichiro Suzuki. Andruw Jones would later walk in the inning with the bases loaded for the third run. Nova wasn't able to get it together and was given the hook by Girardi with only on out in the 3rd after giving up a homer to Stephen Drew and then walking the bases loaded. Luckily for the Yanks, Clay Rapada was able to get a ground ball double-play to escape further damage, but an inning later Rapada allowed an RBI single to Cliff Pennington that tied the game at 4-4. In the 5th, Girardi went to the bench to replace Casey McGehee and opted for the struggling lefty slugger Raul Ibanez. The old veteran delivered for the Bombers with a bomb of his own over the right field wall that gave the Yankees a 5-4 lead.
Derek Lowe, another aged veteran the Yankees have on the roster who hasn't looked good in a while, chipped in with 2.2 solid innings of relief, but a runner he left on base would eventually score on a Chris Carter single. From that point in the 7th inning until the 13th, the game remained tied with one rally killed after another on both sides, including some phenomenal plays in the field by Yankees first base sub Steve Pearce. Freddy Garcia, in his third inning of relief in the 13th without the services of Robertson or Soriano available, finally cracked and was belted hard for a 2-run homer by Jonny Gomes and then a massive shot to left by the dangerous Yoenis Cespedes. Justin Thomas came in to relieve Garcia, but he fared no better and let up another Oakland homer, this time it was rookie Chris Carter. Down 9-5 in the bottom of the 13th inning and the crowd in Yankee Stadium all about gone for the late afternoon, the Yankees put together an unprobable rally to tie the score!! That man again, Ichiro, lead off the inning with an infield hit. After singles from Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano loaded the bases, a wild pitch uncorked by Pat Neshek allowed Ichiro to come home for a 9-6 Oakland lead. Eduardo Nunez delivered on a sacrifice fly as A-Rod was able to move to third on that wild pitch and then scored. With Cano still on base, the tying run in Ibanez came to the plate and blasted a 2-run homer deep to right and the Yankees had come all the way back to tie it at 9-9.
Cory Wade kept the A's off the board in the top of the 14th, and the Yankee bats but it away in the bottom of the inning. Eric Chavez lead off the inning with a single and was replaced by a quicker September call-up Melky Mesa. Jeter moved him to second on a sacrifice bunt, and Oakland ended up walking Ichiro (can't blame them) to put runners on first and second with one out. The next batter, Rodriguez, singled to center for what looked to be the game-winning hit, but rounding the base at third Mesa missed the bag and had to go back. Cano came up next with the bases now loaded and weakly grounded to the pitcher who threw home to force the out. When it seemed this game would never end, Eduardo Nunez finally brought it to a close with a sharp grounder to first that Brandon Moss had trouble fielding cleanly, and fittingly, Ichiro scored the game-winning run. The 10-9 Yankees win took 5 hours and 44 minutes to complete, with a total of 18 pitchers and 29 position players used for both squads. The win brought the Yankees to a season-high twenty-five games over .500 and it was another walk-off win to pay back the A's with from the heartbreak in Oakland.
With seven wins in a row under their belt, the Yankees were looking for number eight that would give them the sweep against Oakland and serve as their second consecutive sweep after dispatching the Blue Jays earlier in the week. Hiroki Kuroda got the call for the last game, and like Nova, was very sharp. Without a strong bite on his slider, and with the help of a blown call by the first base umpire, Cliff Pennington slapped a 2-run homer to right that increased Oakland's lead to 3-0 in the second inning after they already scored one in the first. Yankee players and coaches were barking early too at the home plate umpire for his low and wide strike zone for A's starter A.J. Griffin, but by the 5th inning the Yankee bats did the talking. Nick Swisher got it started with a 2-run homer, and then later in the inning the resurging Raul Ibanez doubled in Granderson to tie the game at 3 all. The game-winning hero from the day before, Eduardo Nunez, grounded out to second that allowed Russell Martin to score for a 4-3 Yankees lead. Again, the Yankees had fought back against adversity, but this time it would be Oakland that would squeak away with a win. Kuroda was never able to find his groove and gave up runs in the 5th and 6th from RBI singles by Cespedes and Pennington respectively. It stayed 5-4 Oakland and in the 9th Oakland manager Bob Melvin went with veteran Grant Balfour for the save. The closest the Yankees came to tying it was a drive by Alex Rodriguez deep to right field that had the crowd ready to explode, but Josh Reddick planted himself in front of the wall and caught the ball anti-climatically in his glove. Cano looked at a called third strike to end the game and the sorely-needed winning streak had ended.
Although the Yankees didn't get the sweep, they showed some swagger in gutting out two walk-off wins against one of the hotter teams in baseballs, something that should help their chemistry as the tight race with the Orioles for the AL East continues with the Yankees clinging to a one-game lead. Next up, the 88-64 Yankees send Andy Pettitte out for his next test in the spacious Minnesota Twins ballpark....
CC Sabathia hasn't quite been himself in 2012, and with two DL stints for a pitcher who is never on the DL, the Yankees had to be concerned they wouldn't be able to count on their ace for the remainder of the season to dominate the way he's done it before. With better control and more velocity this time, Sabathia delivered an ace-like performance with 8 shutout innings that included 11 strikeouts. Opposing pitcher Jarod Parker also went 8 inning, but unlike Sabathia, he gave up a run in the 4th inning from a Granderson sacrifice fly that brought home Swisher. With a high pitch-count and it being a save situation, Girardi called for Rafael Soriano to take the ball in the 9th. With one out, Oakland pinch-hit Brandon Moss and the lefty-hitter took a hanging slider from Soriano and sent it into the second deck in right for a dramatic game-tying homer. Soriano would get out of the inning without giving up anymore runs, but the Yankees were being put to task in extra innings where they haven't been too successful this season. Hard-throwing Oakland lefty Sean Doolittle worked the 9th unscathed and came out again for the 10th. That's when Russell Martin connected on one that went over the left field wall for a walk-off 2-1 Yankees win minus the AJ Burnett pie job after.
The next game would start out with Ivan Nova looking to build upon his good start off the DL facing Tampa Bay against Travis Blackey, but nearly six hours later it would conclude as one of the most unlikely wins in Yankees history. Both starters were ineffective with Nova getting slapped around for doubles for two runs in the 1st inning, only to have the Yankees score three off of Blackey, started off with a solo homer from the hot-hitting Ichiro Suzuki. Andruw Jones would later walk in the inning with the bases loaded for the third run. Nova wasn't able to get it together and was given the hook by Girardi with only on out in the 3rd after giving up a homer to Stephen Drew and then walking the bases loaded. Luckily for the Yanks, Clay Rapada was able to get a ground ball double-play to escape further damage, but an inning later Rapada allowed an RBI single to Cliff Pennington that tied the game at 4-4. In the 5th, Girardi went to the bench to replace Casey McGehee and opted for the struggling lefty slugger Raul Ibanez. The old veteran delivered for the Bombers with a bomb of his own over the right field wall that gave the Yankees a 5-4 lead.
Derek Lowe, another aged veteran the Yankees have on the roster who hasn't looked good in a while, chipped in with 2.2 solid innings of relief, but a runner he left on base would eventually score on a Chris Carter single. From that point in the 7th inning until the 13th, the game remained tied with one rally killed after another on both sides, including some phenomenal plays in the field by Yankees first base sub Steve Pearce. Freddy Garcia, in his third inning of relief in the 13th without the services of Robertson or Soriano available, finally cracked and was belted hard for a 2-run homer by Jonny Gomes and then a massive shot to left by the dangerous Yoenis Cespedes. Justin Thomas came in to relieve Garcia, but he fared no better and let up another Oakland homer, this time it was rookie Chris Carter. Down 9-5 in the bottom of the 13th inning and the crowd in Yankee Stadium all about gone for the late afternoon, the Yankees put together an unprobable rally to tie the score!! That man again, Ichiro, lead off the inning with an infield hit. After singles from Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano loaded the bases, a wild pitch uncorked by Pat Neshek allowed Ichiro to come home for a 9-6 Oakland lead. Eduardo Nunez delivered on a sacrifice fly as A-Rod was able to move to third on that wild pitch and then scored. With Cano still on base, the tying run in Ibanez came to the plate and blasted a 2-run homer deep to right and the Yankees had come all the way back to tie it at 9-9.
Cory Wade kept the A's off the board in the top of the 14th, and the Yankee bats but it away in the bottom of the inning. Eric Chavez lead off the inning with a single and was replaced by a quicker September call-up Melky Mesa. Jeter moved him to second on a sacrifice bunt, and Oakland ended up walking Ichiro (can't blame them) to put runners on first and second with one out. The next batter, Rodriguez, singled to center for what looked to be the game-winning hit, but rounding the base at third Mesa missed the bag and had to go back. Cano came up next with the bases now loaded and weakly grounded to the pitcher who threw home to force the out. When it seemed this game would never end, Eduardo Nunez finally brought it to a close with a sharp grounder to first that Brandon Moss had trouble fielding cleanly, and fittingly, Ichiro scored the game-winning run. The 10-9 Yankees win took 5 hours and 44 minutes to complete, with a total of 18 pitchers and 29 position players used for both squads. The win brought the Yankees to a season-high twenty-five games over .500 and it was another walk-off win to pay back the A's with from the heartbreak in Oakland.
With seven wins in a row under their belt, the Yankees were looking for number eight that would give them the sweep against Oakland and serve as their second consecutive sweep after dispatching the Blue Jays earlier in the week. Hiroki Kuroda got the call for the last game, and like Nova, was very sharp. Without a strong bite on his slider, and with the help of a blown call by the first base umpire, Cliff Pennington slapped a 2-run homer to right that increased Oakland's lead to 3-0 in the second inning after they already scored one in the first. Yankee players and coaches were barking early too at the home plate umpire for his low and wide strike zone for A's starter A.J. Griffin, but by the 5th inning the Yankee bats did the talking. Nick Swisher got it started with a 2-run homer, and then later in the inning the resurging Raul Ibanez doubled in Granderson to tie the game at 3 all. The game-winning hero from the day before, Eduardo Nunez, grounded out to second that allowed Russell Martin to score for a 4-3 Yankees lead. Again, the Yankees had fought back against adversity, but this time it would be Oakland that would squeak away with a win. Kuroda was never able to find his groove and gave up runs in the 5th and 6th from RBI singles by Cespedes and Pennington respectively. It stayed 5-4 Oakland and in the 9th Oakland manager Bob Melvin went with veteran Grant Balfour for the save. The closest the Yankees came to tying it was a drive by Alex Rodriguez deep to right field that had the crowd ready to explode, but Josh Reddick planted himself in front of the wall and caught the ball anti-climatically in his glove. Cano looked at a called third strike to end the game and the sorely-needed winning streak had ended.
Although the Yankees didn't get the sweep, they showed some swagger in gutting out two walk-off wins against one of the hotter teams in baseballs, something that should help their chemistry as the tight race with the Orioles for the AL East continues with the Yankees clinging to a one-game lead. Next up, the 88-64 Yankees send Andy Pettitte out for his next test in the spacious Minnesota Twins ballpark....
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