Paul Blackburn pitched effectively into the sixth inning for his first win of the season and the Oakland Athletics held on for a 2-1 victory over the visiting New York Yankees on Tuesday in the opener of a three-game series.
Trevor May and Sam Moll pitched out of jams of their own making in the last two innings for the A’s, who had lost 10 of 11 since opening their previous homestand with two straight wins over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Oakland never trailed, getting on the board first in the third inning on a Tyler Wade triple and an Esteury Ruiz RBI single against Yankees starter Jhony Brito (4-4).
Seth Brown doubled the lead in the fourth with his sixth homer of the season.
Making his sixth start of the year, Blackburn (1-0) lost his shutout bid when Josh Donaldson led off the fifth with his seventh homer of the year.
Blackburn was pulled one out into the sixth after walking Anthony Rizzo, charged with one run on four hits in 5 1/3 innings. He walked one and struck out five.
Brito made it two outs into the sixth before leaving following a JJ Bleday single. He allowed two runs and four hits with two walks and two strikeouts.
Seeking a third straight win, the Yankees threatened in the eighth when DJ LeMahieu drew a one-out walk and Rizzo got a two-out free pass from May, Oakland’s third pitcher. After falling behind 3-0 in the count, May got Giancarlo Stanton to ground a full-count pitch to third baseman Jace Peterson, allowing the A’s to retain their one-run advantage.
New York got the leadoff man aboard in the ninth when pinch hitter Gleyber Torres singled against Moll. Anthony Volpe kept the visitors alive with a two-out infield hit before Moll locked up his first career save by striking out Kyle Higashioka.
Ruiz, moved to ninth in the lineup, had two hits for the A’s, who were shellacked by a total score of 28-10 over three losses when they visited New York in May.
Ruiz also stole his major-league-leading 40th base of the season but later on was caught stealing for the eighth time this year.
Volpe had three singles for the Yankees, who outhit the hosts 7-5 yet dropped to 8-11 since Aaron Judge left the lineup because of a toe injury.
–Field Level Media
