GAME 58: For a fleeting moment, it looked like tonight could be the night. Behind a Jacoby Ellsbury 3-run blast in the third inning, the Yankees jumped to a 4-0 lead. Then the plot became all to familiar. They fail to tack on runs as the opponent climbs back and takes the lead. Tonight, the Oakland A’s did it to New York again, coming from behind with seven unanswered runs. The reeling Yankees, now at .500, have now lost four straight, 10 of their last 16, and more importantly — 12 of their 16 at Yankee Stadium.
With a bullpen on fumes, manager Joe Girardi had to go with two new additions to the 25-man roster. Right-hander Jose Ramirez and left-hander Wade LeBlanc. Ramirez was called up from Scranton, while LeBlanc was picked up on waivers after being release by the Angels. Both brought gasoline to the fire, but it didn’t matter as the offense again took an early powder.
Vidal Nuno left with a lead after 92 pitches with 2 outs in the fifth inning, but the makeshift relief corps and punchless offense could not protect it.
“You just got to keep running them out there. And they’ve got to get the job done. That’s the bottom line. We’ve had different people in the lineup, and everyone’s had a shot. We’ll continue to try to put out what we feel is the best matchups against certain people, and we’ve got to get it done.”
— Joe Girardi
Here’s the box score. Yankees ace Masahiro Tananka will try to stop the slide tomorrow in an afternoon game for the series finale.
MEMORY LANE: RIP Don Zimmer. More on ‘Zim in the coming days. A baseball life if there ever was one.
