Some games feel like they were meant to be wins.
When your superstar launches two home runs, the scoreboard should tilt in your favor.
But for the New York Yankees, Saturday’s 11-7 defeat to the Athletics turned into a gut punch—a lesson that not even power can mask pitching problems.
A strong start erased by one big mistake
Carlos Rodón came out firing, racking up 10 strikeouts over six innings and throwing 98 pitches.
For stretches, he looked sharp and overpowering.
But two long balls—including a crushing three-run homer by Brent Rooker in the third—spoiled what could’ve been a quality outing.
Rodón allowed four earned runs and eight hits, with just enough damage to open the door for a bullpen implosion.
And unfortunately for the Yankees, the bullpen walked right through it.
A bullpen collapse that erased momentum
Fernando Cruz had been reliable all season.
That ended Saturday.
Cruz gave up three earned runs in just 0.2 innings, marking his worst performance of the year.
Ian Hamilton didn’t fare much better, also surrendering three earned runs across the same stretch.
By the time the Yankees’ offense roared back, it was too late—the damage had been done.
A game that should’ve swung in their favor became a lopsided loss they couldn’t salvage.
Offense tried to carry the load again
It’s not like the bats were quiet.
The Yankees collected nine hits, including three home runs and seven RBIs.
Aaron Judge was a one-man wrecking crew, launching two homers and continuing his torrid run at the plate.
Cody Bellinger chipped in two hits, and even Oswald Peraza joined the party with a two-run blast that drove in Jasson Dominguez.
But there’s only so much a lineup can do when the pitching behind them caves in.
It’s like trying to outrun a rising tide—eventually, you get pulled under.
AL East race is heating up fast
The Yankees still hold first place, but just barely.
Their lead over the Boston Red Sox has shrunk to two games, and both the Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays are looming.
In a division this tight, dropping games to middling teams—on paper—hurts more than usual.
And even though the Athletics are above .500 at 21–19, these are matchups the Yankees need to finish off, especially with momentum swinging.
Redemption starts with a familiar face
The Yankees will get their shot to bounce back on Sunday against an old friend.
Luis Severino, now with the A’s after signing a three-year, $67 million deal, will take the mound.
He’s put together a solid season with a 3.62 ERA, but the Yankees know him well.
And with the bullpen on thin ice and the division lead slipping, Sunday’s game might be more critical than it looks.
Popular Reading
Yankees move rehabbing reliever another step closer to the majors
!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(“has-featured-video”,”true”)})}();var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({“div”:”Brid_2118159″,”obj”:{“id”:”30505″,”width”:”1280″,”height”:”720″,”stickyDirection”:”below”,”video”:”2118159″,”poster”:”https://empiresportsmedia.com/wp-content/plugins/tpd-addons/blocks/featured-video/src/img/1×1-white.png”}});https://player.target-video.com/player/build/targetvideo.min.js