OAKLAND, Calif — The Yankees have proven they are still the team everyone loves to hate.
And hate them or not, they still win.
Tuesday night, in the opener of a three game series, New York scored three runs in the first, three more in the fifth in a 7-3 win over the A’s.
Gio Gonzalez was not sharp making his third start of the season allowing five runs on three hits in 4 1/3 innings with five walks and five strikeouts.
“It was just a rough night,” Gonzalez said. “Just going out there trying to get a little feel for the ball. You feel like you can do better than that. Throw strikes, throw pitches you know you can throw for a strike.”
Alex Rodriguez hit a three run homer, his 585th, to deep left center and is one shy of tying Hall of Famer Frank Robinson for seventh on the all-time list. He credits the Yankees for taking a selective yet aggressive approach at the plate.
“We’re looking to be disciplined and be assertive in the strike zone,” Rodriguez said. “We want them to self destruct and not throwing strikes. We’re going to keep being patient and passing the baton. That’s a big key for us being patient and not chase.”
The A’s also hit some long balls, getting a long home run to right field by Travis Buck to the second deck and later Kurt Suzuki with a big fly to the left field steps. It simply wasn’t enough but like always, the A’s were in it till the end, forcing Yankees manager to bring in closer Mariano Rivera in a NON-save situation.
“We’re a bulldog team, we fought all the way to the end,” Gonzalez said. “We didn’t get the big breaks like they did. We went out there, we tried our best to swing the bat and just couldn’t get some runs in but hey, I stick with my team 100 percent.”
The A’s go at it again on Wednesday night in game two of the series with Ben Sheets (1-0, 2.65 ERA) on the hill against young Phil Hughes (1-0, 3.60) for the Yankees. First pitch is at 7:05 PM. The game is telecast on CSN California, channel 41 or 721 in HD. Radio coverage on the A’s radio network is XTRA Sports 860 AM with the Chris Townsend Dugout show beginning at 6 pm.
Yankees post-game notes:
The Yankees are on a season-high five-game winning streak and have won eight of their past nine…are 8-0 when leading after six innings…are 1-0 on this nine-game road trip through Oakland (1-0), Los Angeles (three games) and Texas (three games). … They have not committed an error in their past 11 games…it is the longest April errorless streak in franchise history. … SS Derek Jeter (0-for-5) had his 11-game hitting streak to start the season snapped and is now hitting .345 (19 for 55) through 12 games…is a career .311 hitter (159 for 512) against the A’s…has a .358 average (86 for 240) at the Coliseum.
A’s post-game notes:
The Oakland Athletics have lost 13 of their past 16 against the Yankees…are 3-2 on this 10-game homestand against Baltimore (3-1), New York (0-1) and Cleveland (three games). … 1B Daric Barton (1-for-2, 2 bb) has reached base safely via a hit, walk or hit by pitch in 14 of his 15 games. … C Kurt Suzuki (2-for-4, 1 r, 2 rbi) has an 11-game hitting streak against New York dating back to July 18, 2008 (.426, 20 for 47)…is a .403 career hitter (25-for-62) against the Yankees, his best against any American League team. … OF Ryan Sweeney (0-for-3, bb) had his 13-game hitting streak snapped and is now batting .302 (16 for 53) in 14 games…the hitting streak matched a career-high and is tied for the second-longest season-opening streak in Oakland history (record: Stan Javier, 17, in 1994).
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