Yankees Offense Falters, Opening Homestand With Frustrating Loss to Athletics

The New York Yankees opened a homestand with a loss to the Oakland Athletics, unable to comeback after Tony Kemp hit a go-ahead home run off Wandy Peralta

Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

NEW YORK — When Tony Kemp's three-run home run sailed over the short porch in the sixth, giving Oakland a 5-3 lead, the Yankees found themselves in familiar territory.

It took three consecutive comebacks in the seventh inning or later from New York to secure a sweep of the Blue Jays in Buffalo earlier this week, a spark of momentum for a club that had been struggling of late.

Rather than another comeback, however, New York's bats went quiet, falling to the Athletics on Friday night by that same score. 

Facing his old team, right-hander James Kaprielian was sharp early on for Oakland. A pair of homers from DJ LeMahieu and Rougned Odor gave the Yankees a lead, lining Kaprielian up for the loss, but it wouldn't last for long.

Jameson Taillon exited the game with two outs in the fifth as Wandy Peralta retired left-handed slugger Matt Olson. Olson had homered in the first off Taillon and while the right-hander had only thrown 76 pitches at that point, he understood the matchup favored a fresh southpaw out of the bullpen.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone stuck with Peralta in the sixth and after back-to-back singles with two men out, Kemp stepped up to the plate. 

Kemp, who had just 17 homers in his entire six-year big-league career entering play on Friday night, pounced on a two-strike, two-out offering from Wandy Peralta. Turning the hanging slider into a souvenir, Kemp's long ball sucked the life out of a crowd of 24,037 in the Bronx. 

"I'm trying to execute my pitch down and away," Peralta said through the team's interpreter after the loss. "Unfortunately, I missed my spot and that's what happens here in the big leagues. You miss your spot here with big-league hitters and you pay the price."

Look at where Higashioka is setting up behind the plate and where the pitch ends up.

It’s a two-strike, two-out pitch to the eighth hitter in the lineup. Even Tony Kemp (who now has 3 HR since 2019) can take advantage of that location.

pic.twitter.com/LS9X55Hz3V

— Max Goodman (@MaxTGoodman) June 19, 2021

From there, Oakland's bullpen shut the door. Yusmeiro Petit, Jake Diekman and Lou Trivino combined to throw 3.1 scoreless innings of relief, allowing only one hit in the process.

With Oakland's success out of the 'pen, New York wound up with just four hits in the loss, a tough pill to swallow after the performances this offense put together earlier in the week.

"There's obviously frustration that we didn't go out and pull one out tonight, but we got a quick turnaround and a tough opponent again tomorrow," manager Aaron Boone said. "We got to come out ready to roll."

LeMahieu added that even if New York didn't find a rhythm offensively on Friday night, there's still budding confidence in the clubhouse as those in pinstripes look to distance themselves from a rocky stretch.

"I think that confidence is growing within our group," LeMahieu explained. "We had the lead, they hit a homer and I felt like we were going to come back one way or another. We just couldn't put much together. But yeah, I think our confidence has grown as a group for sure in those situations."

The Yankees will look to bounce back on Saturday afternoon, handing the ball to Domingo Germán. Oakland has their right-hander Chris Bassitt on the hill, seeking yet another series win.

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