About Last Night: Yankees 4, Athletics 2 (10 innings)

About Last Night: Yankees 4, Athletics 2 (10 innings)

By Tamar Chalker

September 21st, 2024

The Yankees continued their West Coast trip in Oakland Friday night. With New York’s ticket already punched for the postseason, Juan Soto was scratched from the lineup due to his knee’s collision with the wall during a spectacular catch Thursday. He was still available off the bench and came through with a big pinch hit late in the game. An absolutely fantastic start by Gerrit Cole looked like it might be wasted, but New York found their offense in the top of the 10th inning, and Luke Weaver closed the game out for the victory. The Yankees’ Magic Number to win the AL East now sits at 5.

Quick Stats - Gerrit Cole - For the fourth time in his Yankees career, Cole went a full nine innings, allowing just one run on two hits and a walk. He struck out seven and used just 99 pitches on the night, picking up the got the well-deserved win.

Anthony Volpe - The young shortstop went 3-4 with two RBIs.

Luke Weaver - Gave up one unearned run on one hit before striking out the next three batters to secure the save.

J.T. Ginn - The A’s starter went five innings and gave up one run on four hits and a walk. He struck out four.

T.J. McFarland - The southpaw reliever got the loss, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits and took the loss. 

Player(s) of the Game - Gerrit Cole - Coming off his worst game of the season, Cole bounced back and looked ready for the postseason. He had great stuff all night and worked efficiently. 

Anthony Volpe - Volpe played a key part in the Yankees’ offense driving in the tying run in the fifth inning and then following Juan Soto’s pinch-hit double in the 10th with an RBI single that gave the New York some insurance. 

Notable Performances - Soto was scratched but came up big with an RBI double, while Anthony Rizzo went 1-3 with a walk and made some nice plays at first.

Better to Forget - Alex Verdugo went 0-3 and grounded into an inning-ending double play. He also had some miscues in the field, including an unnecessary throw home that could have been costly. 

My Take - It’s late and I’ve had a long day, so my thoughts in no particular order:

• This wasn’t a game with a whole lot of consequence, but it was the type of game I like to see as the Yankees head into the playoffs. A strong, starting performance, some solid defense, and an offense that came through in the end. 

• That’s not to say the Yankees didn’t have some wasted opportunities, as usual. Double plays ruined a couple of early chances in the first and the third innings.

• I was fairly confident Soto would be all right after his sliding catch into the wall on Thursday. Still, given the relative unimportance of this game, I wasn’t mad (as I’m sure he was) that Boone decided to give him the day off to make sure his knee was fine. The X-rays came back negative and his pinch-hit double in the 10th gave the Yankees a great boost and I’m sure a lot of fans sighed in relief. 

• Cole looked fantastic, I really can’t emphasize that enough. It feels so rare that you see starters go deep at all in a game these days, so seeing him go nine (and likely saving us from witnessing another stressful Clay Holmes outing) was great. 

• When Soto was pulled from the starting lineup, Trent Grisham was penciled in rather than Jasson Dominguez. While Dominguez wasn’t able to come through when he pinch-hit in the ninth, having his start the 10th inning on second base gave the Yankees a nice advantage. He probably could have scored when Rizzo singled to right and Butler bobbled the ball, but he had already been held up. Still, when he scored the Yankees had their first lead of the night and they were able to get the extra runs they needed to secure the win. 

Next Up - The Yankees will send Carlos Rodón to the mound on Saturday night in Oakland. He is 15-9 with a 4.12 ERA and 186 strikeouts this season and is coming off a win against the Red Sox. JP Sears will start for the As. The lefty is 11-11 with a 4.24 ERA and 127 Ks this year. First pitch is at 9:07 pm (EDT).