After run erased on replay, A's fall to NY in 11

NEW YORK -- The A's 7-6 loss to the Yankees on Saturday could have easily been a 7-6 win in the era without replay.
Alas, an overturned call decided this one.
Sure, Oakland right-hander Chris Hatcher surrendered a walk-off single to Neil Walker in the 11th inning to even this three-game series at Yankee Stadium. But the events leading up to it loomed large.
The A's loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth against Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman on three straight walks, but Mark Canha struck out and Jonathan Lucroy's sacrifice fly was erased when the Yanks successfully challenged a play at the plate.
Matt Olson was originally ruled safe after tagging from third, but replay officials determined that catcher Gary Sánchez swiped the back of Olson's jersey before he made contact with the plate, taking away what would have been the go-ahead run and ending the inning.
"We're on the wrong side of that every single time, it seems like," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. "They said they saw some sort of touch there, so not much we can do about it."
Touch or not, Olson never sensed it.
"I didn't feel myself get tagged, but they're professionals looking at it, and I trust that I did get tagged," Olson said. "I don't know. I think they have extra slo-mo. It's hard to tell on the replay that I looked at, but if he got anything, it was just barely the jersey."
That's what Yankees left fielder Brett Gardner, who made the throw home, saw on the video board while the play was being reviewed.
"I thought he was safe," Gardner said. "I knew I made a pretty good throw, but I just thought it was a little late from my angle. Obviously, once it went to replay, I was excited about that. It wasn't even close once you saw the replay. The camera, once they slow it down, that doesn't lie."
A's starter Andrew Triggs, meanwhile, believes it never should have come down to that. The right-hander was struck for back-to-back homers by Sanchez and Aaron Hicks in the second inning before Oakland took over the lead with a five-run fourth inning against Yanks rookie Domingo Germán.

Khris Davis collected his second homer in as many days, a go-ahead three-run shot, and Canha capped off the inning with a two-run single. The A's would tack on another in the fifth, courtesy of a sacrifice fly from Jed Lowrie, but the Yankees stormed back in the home half.

Triggs opened the inning with a walk to Gardner that proved costly when Aaron Judge belted a 1-0 curveball to left field for a two-run homer. Triggs put two of his final three batters on base for lefty Danny Coulombe, who surrendered a two-out RBI single to Walker. Miguel Andújar's ensuing base hit off right-hander Ryan Dull tied the score.
"I've got to make better pitches, I've got to put myself in better counts," Triggs said. "This one's on me. These guys worked their butts off to stake me four runs going into that fifth inning, and I gave them all right back. That shouldn't happen, and it shouldn't have gone on as long as it did. I should have slammed the door, and we should have gone 7-8-9, end of story. I didn't do my job, and that's really the most frustrating thing."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Triggs wasn't the only one done in by a free pass. Hatcher issued two in the 11th, including one with two outs to Hicks, putting runners on second and third for Yanks first baseman Walker, who jumped on the first pitch he saw and sent it into center field for the game-winning hit.

SOUND SMART
Eight of Davis' 11 home runs this season have given Oakland the lead.
HE SAID IT
"It's a good lineup, but I feel like if I make my pitches, I get the results I want, so short story is, I didn't make my pitches and they got the better of me." -- Triggs
UP NEXT
Right-hander Brett Anderson will be on the mound for Sunday's 10:05 a.m. PT series finale at Yankee Stadium. Anderson allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings in his first start, but he was rocked for nine runs in three innings in his second outing, against the Astros on Monday. He'll be opposed by Yankees right-hander Luis Severino (5-1, 2.21 ERA).