A memorable night unfolded at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday as the New York Yankees emerged victorious over the Oakland Athletics with a score of 7-3. The game took an unexpected turn in the first inning when a balk call granted Aaron Judge a reprieve and allowed him to blast a two-run homer into the right-field seats. This set the tone for a productive offensive performance by the Yankees, with Anthony Rizzo and Juan Soto also connecting for home runs. Anthony Volpe added a triple to the Yankees’ tally, while Gleyber Torres and Austin Wells broke out of slumps with hits.
Clarke Schmidt, the Yankees’ starting pitcher, had been cruising through the first five innings until the A’s rallied in the sixth. A hit batter and a double paved the way for Brett Rooker to hit a three-run homer, narrowing the Yankees’ lead to 5-3. However, the Yankees regained control swiftly. Luke Weaver secured the final two outs in the sixth, and Soto’s towering home run in the bottom of the inning extended the lead to 6-3. Alex Verdugo added an insurance run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh.
This win marks the Yankees’ second consecutive victory, putting them in a strong position to clinch a series sweep on Thursday night. They will then embark on a challenging road trip, facing the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers and the Baltimore Orioles, who are currently second in the AL East.
Notable developments included the Yankees awaiting updated MRI results on DJ LeMahieu, who experienced right foot discomfort in his first rehab game. Judge’s home run moved him past Derek Jeter into ninth place on the Yankees’ all-time home run list. Furthermore, A’s pitcher Alex Wood, who was not in the game, was ejected after the first inning for disputing the balk call that proved costly for his team.
