09/21/24 12:19:00
Printable Page
09/21 00:17 CDT Gerrit Cole and Juan Soto lead the Yankees past the Athletics
4-2 in 10 innings
Gerrit Cole and Juan Soto lead the Yankees past the Athletics 4-2 in 10 innings
By JOSH DUBOW
AP Sports Writer
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) --- Gerrit Cole tuned up for the postseason by holding the
Athletics to one run in nine innings and Juan Soto came off the bench to hit an
RBI double in the 10th, giving the New York Yankees a 4-2 win on Friday night
in the opener of the final scheduled homestand ever in Oakland.
"That's the Cy Young," Soto said. "That was the Cy Young going out there. I
never doubted his ability and how great he is. It's just great to see him doing
that."
Cole (7-5) was sharp after getting hit hard last Saturday in a loss to Boston,
allowing two hits and one walk. He struck out seven and needed just 99 pitches
to get past the sixth inning for the first time since shutting out Toronto in
his final start of 2023.
"I think it was a combination of their aggressiveness and executing good
pitches early in the counts," Cole said. "There were some balls that were hit
hard, but they were well located. I tried to funnel the balls to our our
defenders."
Cole got the win thanks in part to a rare pinch-hit appearance from Soto, who
was scratched from the starting lineup with a sore left leg after sliding into
a wall in Seattle on Thursday.
After a passed ball by Shea Langeliers allowed the go-ahead run to score in the
10th, Soto delivered his big hit off T.J. McFarland (2-4) for a 3-1 lead. Soto
is 2 for 10 with four RBIs in 13 career pinch-hit appearances.
"It was great --- showman-like," Cole said. "He loves the moment. He loves it."
Anthony Volpe, who entered the day in a 5-for-44 slump, added his second RBI
single of the game to cap the three-run 10th.
Luke Weaver got three outs for his third save, helping the Yankees maintain
their four-game lead over Baltimore in the AL East.
It was a disappointing start to the final stretch of games in Oakland. The A's
have five home games remaining this season before they leave town. They are set
to play at least the next three seasons in Sacramento and intend a 2028 move to
Las Vegas, where they are trying to build a new stadium.
Attendance for the opener of the series was 23,426, pushing the A's season
average over the 10,000 mark for the first time since opening night.
Both starters faced the minimum batters through 3 1/2 innings with Cole
retiring his first nine batters and and Oakland turning double plays after both
early hits allowed by J.T. Ginn.
The teams then traded runs with the A's taking the lead on Langeliers' RBI
single in the fourth and Volpe tying it with his run-scoring single in the
fifth.
"It was a good baseball game," A's manager Mark Kotsay said. "When you get to
extra innings anything can happen. Overall, I thought we played good. We
couldn't get anything going against Cole. We're not the first team to not get
anything going against Cole."
TRAINER'S ROOM
Yankees: RHP Cody Poteet was reinstated from the 60-day DL and optioned to
Triple-A. ... RHP Ron Marinaccio was designated for assignment.
Athletics: RHP Ross Stripling (back) will throw a bullpen session on Saturday,
face hitters on Tuesday and could pitch in the final weekend of the season in
Seattle if all goes well."
UP NEXT
LHP Carlos Rodon (15-9, 4.12 ERA) starts the middle game of the series for the
Yankees against LHP JP Sears (11-11, 4.24).
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
|