Lawrie's 10th-inning HR lifts A's over Yanks
NEW YORK -- Brett Lawrie hit a go-ahead solo home run off All-Star Dellin Betances in the top of the 10th inning on Tuesday, lifting the Athletics to a 4-3 victory over the Yankees in the opener of a three-game series at Yankee Stadium.
"It's a tough AB," Lawrie said. "You get in there, and this guy's an All-Star and has great numbers for a reason. You know he's got a great curveball and he's got 100 [mph] in the tank. You got to get in the box and get ready to hit right away. I missed the first heater and the next curveball was real nasty, and then I just stuck with the curveball, caught it up front, and it stayed fair. Good one for the boys."
Lawrie's eighth homer of the season provided a late lead change after Billy Butler slugged a game-tying homer facing Yankees left-hander Chasen Shreve in the sixth inning. Shreve had entered in relief of starter Nathan Eovaldi, who held the A's to a pair of run-scoring singles from Josh Reddick and Stephen Vogt over the first 5 1/3 innings.
New York built an early lead by jumping on Sonny Gray for two first-inning runs in his return from a bout with salmonella that cost him two starts, with Brian McCann and Garrett Jones punching RBI singles. Gray righted himself and permitted just Didi Gregorius' fourth-inning RBI single through seven innings, scattering six hits while striking out five.
"He really settled down after the first inning," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "He started throwing strikes, that was the difference, and he started getting ahead in the count."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
No golden sombrero: Lawrie avoided a four-strikeout night by lining an 0-2 breaking ball from Betances into the left-field seats for a go-ahead home run in the 10th. It gave the A's their first extra-inning win since Sept. 21, 2014, snapping a six-game extra-inning losing streak -- matching the longest such streak by an A's team over the last 20 years.
"You can see him try to track that breaking ball the pitch before," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "Threw it to him again, but it's not something you're expecting, for him to give up a home run to a righty. That's the kind of player he is, though. He can strike out three times and still have the tenacity in the next at-bat to have confidence."
Video: OAK@NYY: Lawrie's homer puts A's ahead in the 10th
Going high to low: It has been an eventful 36 hours for Betances, who learned Monday afternoon that he was selected to his second All-Star Game in as many years, then absorbed a loss after hanging an 0-2 breaking ball to Lawrie. Betances has given up homers in each of his last two appearances, having served up a two-run shot to the Rays' Steven Souza Jr. on Saturday in a game the Yankees came back to win.
"It's definitely tough when you're ahead in the count," Betances said. "You have to be able to put guys away and I left that pitch over the plate. [Lawrie] obviously crushed it. Last time I was fortunate we won the game; today, we weren't able to do that. Just a bad pitch."
Video: OAK@NYY: Girardi discusses Eovaldi, Betances
Early hook for Nate: Girardi opted to go to the bullpen after Eovaldi recorded the first out of the sixth inning, unwilling to permit the right-hander to face Reddick a third time despite having thrown just 86 pitches. It wasn't Reddick who hurt the Yanks but Butler, who clubbed his game-tying shot to left field off Shreve. Eovaldi scattered two runs on six hits, and has allowed three or fewer runs in 13 of his 17 starts.
"Reddick had hit him pretty hard and I had a fresh bullpen," Girardi said. "The way my bullpen's been throwing I thought I would go to Shreve, and then I knew I had Adam Warren, and then continue to roll out the guys."
Video: OAK@NYY: Eovaldi fans Lawrie to end the frame
Gray shows grit: Gray admirably battled his way through seven laboring innings after missing a pair of starts because of an illness, rebounding from a rocky 26-pitch first inning that resulted in two runs to throw 110 through seven. It marked the ninth time in 17 starts he's completed at least seven frames.
"Coming off what he's been dealing with, it was outstanding for him to re-get it," Vogt said. "He was trying to fight it in the first inning, and he was still making good pitches, and for him to do what he did and go seven for us was huge, especially with how he looked early. He made such good adjustments and threw more changeups today than he ever had, and they were working."
Video: OAK@NYY: Gray goes seven strong vs. Yankees
QUOTABLE
"He's got great stuff. The last two home runs he's given up just backed up on him a little bit to the middle of the plate. But he's as good as they come."
-- McCann, on Betances
WHAT'S NEXT
A's: Left-hander Scott Kazmir, who is 3-1 with a 1.53 ERA over his last five starts, takes the mound at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday for the second game of a three-game series. Kazmir is 8-7 with a 3.28 ERA in 20 career appearances (19 starts) against New York. First pitch in the Bronx is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. PT.
Yankees: Left-hander CC Sabathia (3-8, 5.59 ERA) will take the ball for his 17th start of the season as the Yankees host the Athletics at 7:05 ET. Sabathia took the loss in his last start on June 29 at Anaheim and will be working on extended eight days' rest. The Bay Area native is 8-11 with a 4.75 ERA in 28 career starts against the A's.
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