Manaea loses focus in A's 5-1 loss to Yankees

May 22, 2016 - 12:36 AM OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) Athletics rookie Sean Manaea is learning the hard way in his first season in the majors.

This time, the left-hander's inability to keep his focus during a four-run fourth inning proved costly.

Coming off his first big league win, Manaea pitched into the seventh inning and gave Oakland's bullpen a much-needed rest, but not much else went right for the A's in a 5-1 loss to the New York Yankees on Saturday.

''I let my mind wander and I didn't get back,'' said Manaea, who allowed five runs on six hits. ''That's completely on me. I wasn't executing the plan that we talked about before. It's something I've kind of done throughout my life. It's just something that I need to get a lot better at.''

Manaea (1-2) walked two and struck out four before leaving with two outs in the seventh following Starlin Castro's RBI double.

That he got as far as he did was a highlight for the A's on a day when not much else went right.

''There was just a three-, four-, five-batter period where they get some good swings and scored some runs off him,'' Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. ''We had very few guys available today. In that respect, he did get us deep enough in the game where we didn't have to go to someone we didn't want to use.''

Castro broke out of a slump with three hits, Carlos Beltran singled twice to keep up his recent tear and the Yankees beat the A's a third straight time to win Joe Girardi's 1,500th game as a manager.

New York starter Masahiro Tanaka (2-0) allowed one run on five hits and had four strikeouts for his first victory since April 12.

Castro was in a 3-for-22 funk before he reached on an infield single as part of New York's four-run fourth. The veteran second baseman also singled in the fifth, and then doubled in Ronald Torreyes for an insurance run in the seventh.

Beltran had an RBI single in the fourth to stay hot. He is batting .391 (9 for 23) with eight RBIs over the past six games.

All the runs came off Manaea.

''My main thing is to go deep into the game and take the pressure off the bullpen,'' Manaea said. ''From that standpoint I thought I did pretty well. I didn't have my best stuff but I tried to battle as much as I could.''

The A's scored their only run off Tanaka in the fifth when Matt McBride walked and scored on Valencia's sacrifice fly.

CALL A PLUMBER

There were plumbing issues in the visitor's dugout at the Coliseum before the game. Several maintenance workers spent nearly an hour trying to fix a backed-up toilet while a member of the Coliseum staff mopped up the standing water seeping into the dugout. Girardi and some New York players sidestepped the mess as they made their way to the field for pre-game workouts. The stadium, built in 1966, has been plagued by plumbing issues for several years.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Athletics: Davis left the game in the seventh with tightness in his right forearm. ... X-rays taken on Stephen Vogt's left wrist were negative, but he did not play. Vogt was hit by a pitch from New York's CC Sabathia in the second inning Friday. ... Oakland plans to activate 2B Jed Lowrie from the DL on Wednesday.

UP NEXT

Yankees: Michael Pineda (1-5) goes for New York on Sunday. The right-hander has lost a career-high five straight decisions.

Athletics: RHP Jesse Hahn (1-1) pitches the series finale in his second start since being called up from the minors for the second time this season.