San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Yankees 7, A’s 5: Win streak is over after bullpen gives up lead
NEW YORK — Three relievers cannot carry the A’s bullpen. A wellused trio of Yusmeiro Petit, Jake Diekman and Lou Trivino got the final 10 outs of a win Friday. Manager Bob Melvin tried to avoid asking as much Saturday. The supporting cast faltered. A late lead dissipated in a 75 loss at Yankee Stadium that ended Oakland’s winning streak at seven games.
Starter Chris Bassitt worked six innings. Trivino was unavailable, leaving Petit as a candidate to close the ninth inning in a save situation. The A’s still needed to get there. With a 42 lead, Melvin called on Burch Smith for the seventh.
Clint Frazier lined a leadoff double.
Smith notched two outs but could not escape. Aaron Judge sent a curveball to center for an RBI single. Smith then walked Gary Sanchez on five pitches. It left Melvin little choice against the righthanded heavy heart of the Yankees order. He summoned Petit to face slugger Giancarlo Stanton.
“I was either going to use (Petit) at the very end or I was going to use him where I did,” Melvin said.
Petit had retired Stanton in a key spot Friday. It left Stanton hitless in 11 career atbats against the A’s fireman. Petit tried an 01 fastball low and away at 89.7 mph, notable velocity for him. Stanton shot it into right field, past diving first baseman Matt Olson. Judge scored. The tie did not last long.
Jesús Luzardo drew the assignment of pitching the eighth. Home runs have plagued the erstwhile starter. The trend continued with his first hitter. He fired a 22 fastball to Gio Urshela at 98.6 mph but up in the strike zone. Urshela drove it 424 feet, over the centerfield wall. Luzardo has allowed at least one home run in each of his past five outings in relief.
“He’s struggled here recently,” Melvin said. “He came up with a couple really good outings out of the bullpen and the last few have not been as good. Obviously, the long ball has been a problem for him. And he’s making mistakes with his fastballs and one with two strikes he didn’t get in there and it ends up being middle of the plate. So yeah, he’s going through a rough stretch right now.”
After Urshela’s homer, Luzardo walked his next two batters. Both scored when Sergio Romo entered and allowed a single to DJ LeMahieu. Luzardo recorded one out before exiting. In seven appearances since returning from a hand fracture as a reliever, he has a 9.90 ERA.
“It’s all about trusting himself, knowing that it’s a rough patch,” shortstop Elvis Andrus said. “It’s a long season, still a lot of games left and he’s a guy that we’re going to rely a lot on.”
The Yankees received key relief. The A’s built their lead against starter Domingo Germán. Tony Kemp and Matt Chapman hit solo homers. Andrus and Mark Canha singled in the fifth and scored on an Olson single. That left A’s at the corners and no outs. Lefthander Nestor Cortes replaced Germán and quelled the threat, striking out Ramón Laureano and Chapman and retiring Sean Murphy on a flyball.
Cortes held the A’s scoreless for three innings. Chad Green bridged the eighth. The A’s put the potential tying run on base in the ninth against Aroldis Chapman as Laureano hit a twoout RBI single. But the Yankees’ closer reached back for a 103.4 mph fastball to strike out Matt Chapman. “Chapman to Chapman, that was a really explosive matchup right there,” Andrus said.
For six innings, Bassitt subdued the Yankees, a team he had never faced. The righthander allowed eight baserunners but just two scored. He navigated four innings in which the leadoff hitter reached. Urshela hit a twoout RBI single in the fourth; Bassitt struck out Rougned Odor to strand two runners. Bassitt survived Frazier’s leadoff double in the fifth unscathed. Sanchez led off the sixth with a home run and Stanton followed with a single. Bassitt retired the next three hitters, striking out Urshela and Odor to finish the inning.
“He had to battle through a few jams, but to come out with a tworun lead and pitch in the fashion that he did, gave us a chance to win,” Melvin said. “We just couldn’t hold it.”