A’s win in Bronx

For eight innings in the Bronx, the New York Yankees had four hits, a 2-2 tie, and a crowd waiting for one big swing. In the ninth, the Athletics got a leadoff single from Nick Kurtz, a double from Shea Langeliers, and a sacrifice fly from Brent Rooker to steal a 3-2 win at Yankee Stadium on April 8. (abc7ny.com) The strange part is that the Athletics won without a late homer and without a crooked number. Their only ninth-inning run came on a deep enough fly ball to center field, which is baseball’s version of winning a race by half a step. (espn.com) New York had jumped ahead seven pitches into the first inning after three straight singles, with Cody Bellinger driving in the first run. Luis Severino, facing the Yankees after spending 2012 through 2023 in their organization, then walked in another run before settling down. (abc7ny.com) The Athletics pulled even in the fourth when Jeff McNeil lined an run-scoring single and Will Warren uncorked a wild pitch that brought home Max Muncy. From there, the game turned into a bullpen arm-wrestling match, with every baserunner feeling expensive. (espn.com) That is where Oakland’s relief group changed the night. After Severino’s five innings, Scott Barlow, Hogan Harris, Elvis Alvarado, and Joel Kuhnel combined for four hitless innings, and Kuhnel finished the ninth for his second major league save and his first save since 2022. (abc7ny.com) The Yankees had chances, but their lineup kept stalling one turn too early. Ben Rice struck out four times, and New York finished 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position, which is how a team can score in the first inning and then go silent for the next eight. (abc7ny.com) There was also a small sign of how patched-together the Yankees still are in April. Ryan McMahon made his first major league start at shortstop while Anthony Volpe recovers from left shoulder surgery, and manager Aaron Boone said Volpe could begin a minor league rehabilitation assignment next week. (abc7ny.com) For Oakland, this was not just one clean upset against a club that opened the day 8-3. The Athletics had lost the series opener 5-3 on April 7, so the ninth-inning swing on April 8 turned the finale on April 9 into a live chance to leave the Bronx with a split instead of a familiar early hole. (espn.com) (mlb.com) That is why this kind of win sticks in a clubhouse longer than a routine April result. A team that entered the night 4-7 walked out having beaten one of the American League’s fastest starters in a one-run game, on the road, with four hitless innings from its bullpen and one well-timed fly ball. (espn.com)