The New York Yankees have taken game three and the series against the Oakland Athletics thanks to a masterful performance from their ace.
- New York Yankees: 5 (20-23)
- Oakland Athletics: 1 (19-25)
- American League, FINAL, Box Score
- Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, CA
After struggling in his last two outings, Masahiro Tanaka returned to his normal ace status by only allowing five hits and surrendering two walks across seven innings of one-run ball.
The 27-year old native of Japan outworked Sean Manea’s five-run in 6.2 innings performance as the Yankees made sure they got the most of the 24-year old.
Most of the damage was done in the top of the fourth inning as New York pounced on Manea for four runs. Carlos Beltran got the parade going with an RBI single that scored Marcus Semien.
You better wear an oven mitt if you plan on shaking Beltran’s hand as he was batting .364 slugging .818 with 2 home runs in the six games coming into today. His 2-for-4 day only made those numbers better.
Later that inning, when the score was 2-0 Yankees, Rob Refsnyder drove a two-run double into the gap in right-center field to score Mark Teixeira and Beltran to put the Bombers ahead 4-0. The at-bat by Refsnyder lasted 10 pitches as the utility man demonstrated the poise of a 10-year veteran.
This would be more than enough to finish off the Athletics, but Starlin Castro added insurance wth an RBI double in the top of the seventh to put the Yankees up 5-1. Thanks to Nick Goody’s solid performance out of the bullpen, they would win by that score.
During their current winning streak, New York has outscred their opponents 21-7 while averaging 5.3 runs per game.
#StartSpreadingTheNews! #Yankees pick up their 4th straight win, 5-1 over the A’s. pic.twitter.com/906Yk5BhOl
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) May 21, 2016
FINAL: Yankees 5, #Athletics 1
— #VoteGreenCollar (@Athletics) May 21, 2016
Starlin ropes a double down the third base line to score Torreyes, his third hit of the day! ⭐️ #Yankees now lead 5-1 in the 7th!
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) May 21, 2016
.@Rob_Refsnyder wins the at-bat and extends the #Yankees lead with his two-run double! #Yankees 4, A’s 0.
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) May 21, 2016
Joe Girardi on his team’s current 4-game win streak & how @Yankees pitching has helped make it possible. #YANKSonYEShttps://t.co/irCRaiWcr5
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) May 21, 2016
Injury Report:
You’re probably sick and tired of hearing about Alex Rodriguez in these, but here he is again.
According to ESPN, A-Rod, who has missed the last two weeks with a hamstring injury, is projecting a return to the Yankees on Tuesday when the Yankees open up a home series with the Toronto Blue Jays.
The 40-year old slugger has been out of action since May 3 after straining his right hamstring in a game against the Baltimore Orioles. He has five home runs this season.
Alex Rodriguez set to return from the DL Tuesday for Yankees’ three-game homestand vs Blue Jays. pic.twitter.com/NyItdQuJ28
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 21, 2016
What’s Next:
The Yankees will go for their first sweep of 2016 tomorrow afternoon as they will clash again with the Athletics. The struggling Michael Pineda will take the mound opposed by Jesse Hahn.
There aren’t many of them here in 2016, but one of Big Mike’s best starts came against the Oakland A’s on April 19th. In his career against the A’s, he is 2-1 with a 2.25 ERA and 9 K/9 in four starts.
In that outing, Pineda struck out seven while only allowing two runs in six innings of work. Since then, his ERA is a 9.38 in five starts.
Hahn returned from a demotion to the minor leagues and dazzled in 6.2 innings by only allowing three runs. He is still shaky, however, as he has allowed 21 hits in 18.2 innings and has surrendered three home runs in three starts.
