Athletics 1 - 2 Yankees
Final
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Tanaka gets Yankees back on track with win over A's

Jun 5, 2014 - 11:31 PM Bronx, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Brett Gardner hit a go-ahead homer in the third inning, Masahiro Tanaka tossed six strong frames and the New York Yankees beat the Oakland Athletics, 2-1, to avoid a three-game sweep.

Tanaka (9-1) allowed one run on five hits while striking out four for the Yankees, who snapped a four-game skid.

The Japanese hurler started his June slate the way he ended May. Tanaka was named the AL Pitcher of the Month for May after going 5-1 with a 1.88 earned run average in six starts, with 42 strikeouts and six walks across 43 innings.

"He's the most experienced," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "What he's done in Japan and what he's been able to do here, he's stepped up for us and kind of assumed that [ace] role."

New York outfielder Carlos Beltran went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in his return from the 15-day disabled list. He batted fifth as the team's designated hitter.

John Jaso hit a solo homer for the A's, who had a five-game winning streak snapped. Drew Pomeranz (5-3) gave up two runs -- one earned -- on six hits with seven strikeouts over seven innings.

"He kept his pitch count down and threw strikes. With the lack of bullpen arms we had, we needed him to do that," A's manager Bob Melvin said of Pomeranz.

The A's jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Jaso's blast to right in the first.

The Yankees were inches away from taking the lead in the bottom half of the frame. Derek Jeter hit a one-out single before Jacoby Ellsbury almost cleared the wall in right. It was called a homer on the field, but replay showed the ball hit off the top of the wall. Ellsbury was awarded a double and Jeter moved to third. New York ended up with nothing after Mark Teixeira lined out and Beltran struck out swinging.

New York plated its first run in the second. Brian McCann singled to left, advanced to second on Brandon Moss' fielding error and crossed the plate on Alfonso Soriano's single to right-center field. Brian Roberts grounded into a double play to keep it a 1-1 game.

New York went ahead on Gardner's homer in the third.

Oakland had a chance to tie the game or take the lead in the eighth. Adam Warren stranded men on second and third after striking out Yoenis Cespedes.

The A's wasted another golden scoring opportunity in the ninth. Craig Gentry came on as a pinch-runner after Stephen Vogt hit a one-out single. Gentry stole second and advanced to third on Alberto Callaspo's groundout. But David Robertson got pinch-hitter Derek Norris looking at strike three to record his 13th save of the season.

Game Notes

The A's have homered in 13 straight games with 23 total in that span ... Oakland fell to 20-11 on the road this season ... New York went 2-5 on a seven-game homestand ... Ellsbury extended his hitting streak to 10 games.






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