Montas Leads A's to 3-2 Win, Ending Yankees' Streak
OAKLAND (AP) -- The New York Yankees' 13-game winning streak ended as Frankie Montas pitched seven shutout innings and the Oakland Athletics held on for a 3-2 victory Saturday.
Matt Chapman homered to help stop the Yankees' best run in nearly 60 years. The A's had lost six straight and 10 of 12 before handing the charging Yankees their first loss since Aug. 12 in Chicago against the White Sox.
New York nearly kept it going, too.
The Yankees trailed 3-0 in the ninth inning when Anthony Rizzo reached on a bloop single with one out and Aaron Judge followed with his 29th homer, connecting against Sergio Romo.
But Romo got Giancarlo Stanton to pop out and Joey Gallo to ground out for his first save since 2020.
The Yankees' string was their best since a 13-game streak in September 1961 fueled by Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. The last time they did better was a 15-game charge in 1960; the team's record is a 19-game winning streak in 1947.
Judge has homered six times in 15 games. His power surge helped the Yankees boost their playoff position and put pressure on AL East-leading Tampa Bay.
Montas (10-9) was crisp all afternoon, allowing just two hits. He struck out six and walked one for his first win since July 29.
Montas retired 15 straight after Judge's two-out double in the first, then fanned Stanton for the second time. Montas got a key 3-5-3 double play after Judge singled in the seventh and clapped his hands furiously after the double play.
Andrew Chafin retired three batters before Romo pitched the ninth.
The A's got to left-hander Nestor Cortes Jr. (2-2) for two runs in the second, aided by a balk call against the Yankees starter on a pickoff attempt following Tony Kemp's two-out RBI single.
Chapman hit his 21st homer leading off the fourth.
Pitching on seven days rest, Cortes (2-2) allowed three runs and four hits in 5 1/3 innings. He had four strikeouts and walked three.
BUSY DAY FOR PLATE UMP
Home plate umpire Tony Randazzo had a busy afternoon. After the balk call against Cortes, Randazzo and the pitcher got into a brief, heated discussion near the Yankees dugout. In the top of the third, Randazzo was in hit in the facemask by a pitch from Montas that appeared to glance off catcher Yan Gomes' glove. Then in the bottom of the frame, Randazzo ejected A's manager Bob Melvin after replay upheld an inning-ending double play by the Yankees.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Athletics: INF Elvis Andrus was rested after injuring his left arm while taking a check-swing in the ninth inning of Friday's loss. Melvin called it a stinger injury that happened when Andrus tried to stop his swing. "He'll probably be in there tomorrow," Melvin said. … LHP Cole Irvin (hip discomfort) threw a bullpen session and remains on scheduled to start Tuesday in Detroit. … Four days after surgery to repair his broken cheekbone suffered when he was hit in the head by a line drive, injured ace Chris Bassitt is intent on pitching again this season. "The doctors made a mistake in telling me that I'm going to be OK in a couple weeks," Bassitt said. "When they said that, I said, 'All right, we're rocking.' If everything progresses the way it should, I want to be back before the end of the season and hopefully I am."
UP NEXT
Yankees LHP Jordan Montgomery (5-5, 3.69 ERA) faces the A's in the series finale Sunday. Montgomery has allowed one run or fewer in four of his previous five starts. Oakland RHP Paul Blackburn (0-1, 4.09) makes his third start since being called up from Triple-A Sacramento. Blackburn hasn't won since June 29, 2018.
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