Yankees 4-2 Athletics (September 20, 2024) Match Report

OAKLAND, Calif. – Gerrit Cole prepared for the postseason by limiting the Athletics to one run in nine innings, and Juan Soto came off the bench to hit an RBI double in the 10th inning, giving the New York Yankees a 4-2 victory Friday night in the opener of Oakland's last scheduled home game ever.

“That's the Cy Young,” Soto said. “That was the Cy Young when I went out there. I never doubted his ability and his greatness. It's just great to watch him.”

Cole (7-5) was in top form after last Saturday's loss to Boston, allowing two hits and a walk, throwing seven strikeouts and needing just 99 pitches to get past the sixth inning for the first time since his shutout against Toronto in his final start of 2023.

“I think it was a combination of their aggressiveness and making good shots early in the count,” Cole said. “Some balls were hit hard, but they were well placed. I tried to direct the balls to our defenders.”

Cole owed the victory in part to a rare pinch-hitter appearance by Soto, who was removed from the starting lineup due to soreness in his left leg after sliding into a wall in Seattle on Thursday.

After a passed ball by Shea Langeliers made it 10th inning, Soto hit his big hit against TJ McFarland (2-4) to give the team a 3-1 lead. Soto is 2-of-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 began the day with a 5-for-44 career low, added his second RBI single of the game to cap the 10th inning with three runs.

Luke Weaver made 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 series of games in Oakland. The A's have five home games left this season before leaving town. They will play in Sacramento for at least the next three seasons and plan to move to Las Vegas in 2028, where they will try to build a new stadium.

Attendance for the series opener was 23,426, pushing the A's season average above 10,000 for the first time since opening night.

Both starters faced a minimum of batters for 3 1/2 innings, with Cole taking out his first nine batters and Oakland getting double plays after the two early hits JT Ginn allowed.

The teams then traded runs, with the A's taking the lead on Langeliers' RBI single in the fourth inning and Volpe tying the game with his run-scoring single in the fifth inning.

“It was a good baseball game,” said A's manager Mark Kotsay. “When you get to overtime, anything can happen. Overall, I thought we played well. We couldn't get anything done against Cole. We're not the first team to get anything done against Cole.”

TRAINING ROOM

Yankees: RHP Cody Poteet was activated from the 60-day DL and sent to Triple-A. … RHP Ron Marinaccio was designated for assignment.

Athletics: RHP Ross Stripling (back) will throw a bullpen session Saturday, face hitters Tuesday and, if all goes well, could pitch the final weekend of the season in Seattle.”

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).

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb