Josh Donaldson’s two-run home run ignited an eight-run sixth inning, Clarke Schmidt ended a six-game winless skid and the New York Yankees successfully followed up on a historic night with a 10-4 triumph over the host Oakland Athletics on Thursday afternoon.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa also homered for the Yankees, who posted double-digit runs just as they had in support of Domingo German’s perfect game in Wednesday’s 11-0 win.
It took all of three pitches for the A’s to end the possibility of back-to-back no-hitters when Tony Kemp led off the first with a single. He scored two batters later, helping the hosts run out to as much as a 3-1 lead.
Down 3-2 entering the sixth, the Yankees took the lead for good when Harrison Bader singled off Hogan Harris (2-2) and Donaldson followed with his eighth homer of the season, a 472-foot blast to left-center field.
Harris was pulled two batters later after giving up a one-out single to Anthony Volpe, and the Yankees then teed off on Oakland relievers Lucas Erceg and Ken Waldichuk for four more hits and six more runs.
Gleyber Torres’ two-run single and Giancarlo Stanton’s two-RBI double were the big hits off Erceg, who faced six batters and didn’t record an out, giving up three hits, two hit batsmen and a walk. Bader and Kiner-Falefa also had run-scoring hits in the inning.
Schmidt (3-6) held the A’s to three runs and five hits over 5 1/3 innings for his first win since May 19 against the Cincinnati Reds. He walked three and struck out three.
Bader finished with three hits and two runs for the Yankees, while Kiner-Falefa had two hits and three RBIs and Torres collected two hits and two RBIs. Volpe also notched a pair of hits.
Kiner-Falefa’s homer, which came in the second inning, was his fifth of the season.
Seth Brown had three singles and an RBI for the A’s, who took their 12th loss in their last 14 games while also losing the season series to the Yankees 5-1. JJ Bleday walked twice, scored twice and had a sacrifice fly.
Harris was charged with five runs (four earned) on nine hits in 5 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out two.
–Field Level Media
