Eovaldi gave up two runs on six hits, while striking out four and only walking one batter in 5.1 innings against the Athletics. Before that, Betances went 54 appearances without yielding a long ball.
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“We had a bad day”, said manager Joe Girardi, whose club has scored three or fewer runs in six of its last seven games.
Shreve got Reddick out before Butler’s home run.
The loss was the Yankees’ second in a row, coming on the heels of a three-game win streak. Eovaldi, the hard-throwing Yankee starter, left with the lead, but normally dominant reliever Chasen Shreve gave up a home run to Oakland designated hitter Billy Butler, setting the stage for the tie. The Yankees are 14-5 in their last 19 home games and 6-2 in Eovaldis last 8 starts. He is slated to start Tuesday against the Yankees in New York, and this would put him in line to pitch against Cleveland the Sunday before the All-Star game, making him ineligible to start the big game. Eovaldi had thrown just 86 pitches, but Girardi preferred the lefty Sherve against Josh Reddick.
Oakland tied it with three consecutive singles in the third, the last by All-Star catcher Stephen Vogt.
Athletics: LHP Sean Doolittle (strained shoulder) was set to play catch for the first time since going on the disabled list May 28 for the second time this season. Although he didn’t get the win, Eovaldi lowered his season earned run average to 4.45. Miller has been sidelined since June 10 with a strained left forearm, while Ellsbury has been out since May 20 with a sprained right knee. He’ll be opposed by Scott Kazmir (5-5, 2.56 ERA) for Oakland.
Gray’s outstanding start in that May series helped Oakland take three of four, and he’ll look for a repeat performance Tuesday night against the Yankees – though it remains to be seen how strong he is after missing time due to a severe case of salmonella.
Those are the only two home runs Betances has allowed all year, and they brought his ERA from 1.10 to 1.65. New York used a pair of off days on the schedule to push back Sabathia three days so he could work on some pitching problems between outings.
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The New York Yankees’ first matchup with the Oakland Athletics didn’t go well, with Sonny Gray playing a key role.
