Domingo German gets roughed up, Yankees fall to Athletics 6-2

If you had watched just the first inning of this game and went to bed, you would have gotten the gist of it.

The game started off pretty well, with the Yankees scoring a run in the top of the first. However, they didn’t do nearly as well against a starting pitcher who came into this game with an ERA over five. Then in the bottom half of the inning, the Athletics put up a couple runs against Domingo German.

In general, that was the story of this game. The Yankees did a bit against Homer Bailey, but not nearly enough, plating just one run on seven hits off him. Meanwhile, the Athletics handled German pretty well. The first inning was a harbinger of things to come in both respects, as the Yankees dropped the series opener in Oakland by a score of 6-2.

As mentioned, it didn’t take long for the Yankees to get on the board. After Bailey retired the first two Yankees hitters of the game, Gary Sanchez followed that by smashing a home run to almost straight away center, giving the Yankees an early lead.

The lead only lasted a couple batters, however. German was also pretty close to getting out of the inning, getting two outs on either side of a walk. That left the inning up to Matt Olson, who homered on the first pitch he saw, putting Oakland in front. Mark Canha immediately followed that with a dinger of his own.

The A’s then tacked onto their lead in the second. With two outs and a runner on, Marcus Semien doubled, scoring Chris Herrmann from first.

German appeared to settle down after that, but the A’s eventually got to him again. In the sixth, Oakland picked up two-straight hits to start the inning. After German struck out Khris Davis, Stephen Piscotty brought home both runners with a single, knocking the Yankees’ starter out. His final line was six runs allowed (five earned) on eight hits and two walks in 5.1 innings, striking out seven. It was just the third time all season that he’s allowed six or more runs in a game.

In relief of German, Jonathan Loaisiga did quite well in his second game since returning. He threw the final 2.2 innings for the Yankees, allowing just one hit.

In the eighth, the Yankees cut into their deficit when Aaron Judge crushed a baseball for a solo home run. It was a good sign for a couple reasons. One, it showed that he’s getting out of his slump. Two, it was his first homer to left field all season. Three, it was crushed, going 467 feet.

That was as close as any rally attempt got. The Yankees mustered just three other hits in total off Oakland’s bullpen, and that was that.

Box score.