Yanks Hit 4, Top A's 4-3
NEW YORK (AP) -- DJ LeMahieu homered on the first pitch in the bottom of the 11th inning and the New York Yankees beat Oakland 4-3 on Saturday for their first victory in five tries against the Athletics this season.
Aaron Judge hit a tying homer for New York with two outs in the eighth, his 19th of the season and sixth in eight games. The 6-foot-7 Judge also took a potential home run away from Matt Chapman in the 10th, barely needing to leave his feet for a grab at the right field wall.
Gary Sánchez went deep twice and the AL East leaders finally took down the A's, once again a potential playoff opponent come October. New York defeated Oakland in the AL wild-card game last year, and the Athletics are in a close race with Cleveland and Tampa Bay for the two American League wild cards this season.
LeMahieu, an MVP contender in his first season with the Yankees, was 0 for 4 with three strikeouts in the leadoff spot before driving a 97 mph fastball from Lou Trivino the other way to right field for his 24th home run.
Trivino (4-6) was beginning his third inning of work.
It was LeMahieu's third career walk-off hit and New York's first game-ending homer this season.
Cory Gearrin (1-2), the seventh Yankees reliever, pitched two scoreless innings for his first win with New York. Gearrin threw 30 pitches Friday night, too.
Matt Olson launched a mammoth two-run homer off Yankees starter Domingo Germán, who leads the majors with 17 wins. The right-hander gave up two runs and four hits in five innings — and received a pointed pep talk on the mound from manager Aaron Boone before retiring his final batter, Chapman, with two on.
Sánchez homered twice off starter Homer Bailey, who handed Germán two of his three losses this year. Bailey struck out nine and permitted four hits in 5 2/3 sharp innings.
With two outs in the eighth, Judge sent an opposite-field solo shot off Joakim Soria into the second deck in right to tie it 3-all. Soria struck out the other three batters in the inning.
Oakland loaded the bases in three consecutive innings beginning with the sixth, but mustered only one run. Chapman gave the A's a 3-2 lead in the seventh with an RBI double off Adam Ottavino that was barely fair down the left field line — perhaps just catching a sliver of chalk as it landed. There was no replay review.
Sánchez hit a 436-foot drive into the second deck in left and later cleared the auxiliary scoreboard in right-center for his 13th career multihomer game and third this season.
New York hit 74 home runs in August, shattering the major league record for any month. The previous mark of 58 was shared by Baltimore (May 1987) and Seattle (May 1999).
TRAINER'S ROOM
A's: LHP Sean Manaea is set to come off the injured list Sunday when rosters expand. He will start the series finale, making his season debut after recovering from left shoulder surgery. With a day off Monday, right-hander Mike Fiers (13-3) gets pushed back to Tuesday at home against the Angels to give him extra rest.
Yankees: LHP Zack Britton exited in the eighth with cramping in his right calf. No tests were scheduled. ... DH-1B Edwin Encarnación could go to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to begin a rehab assignment Sunday that would likely last a couple of days. He might even be able to return on the current homestand that concludes Wednesday. "It looks like it's imminent in the coming days," Boone said. Encarnación has been out since Aug. 3 with a broken right wrist. ... CC Sabathia (right knee inflammation) was placed on the 10-day injured list for the fourth time this year. RHP Jonathan Loaisiga was recalled from Triple-A and threw several 99 mph fastballs to pitch out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth. ... OF-DH Giancarlo Stanton (sprained right knee) is wearing a knee brace as he rehabs that he would probably keep wearing upon a return to the lineup this season. ... 1B Greg Bird (left plantar fascia tear) is feeling better and ready to begin baseball activities.
SO LONG
Pittsburgh claimed left-hander Wei-Chung Wang off waivers from Oakland. The 27-year-old Wang, designated for assignment Thursday, went 1-0 with a 3.33 ERA in 20 relief appearances for the A's this season while holding left-handed hitters to a .186 batting average (8 for 43).
UP NEXT
A's: Manaea went 12-9 with a 3.59 ERA in 27 starts last year and pitched a no-hitter in April against eventual World Series champion Boston. He was sidelined in late August and had surgery on Sept. 19. The 27-year-old lefty has been rehabbing in the minors this season and his most recent outing was a gem. Manaea struck out 12 over seven shutout innings of two-hit ball for Triple-A Las Vegas on Aug. 23 at Tacoma.
Yankees: LHP J.A. Happ (11-8, 5.57 ERA) struck out seven in five innings of two-hit ball to win Monday at Seattle. He is 4-2 with a 3.96 ERA in his career against Oakland.
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