Yankees can’t hold lead, fall to the A’s

That wasn't what we wanted to see.

All good things must come to an end. That holds especially true for winning streaks. The Athletics snapped the Yankees seven game win streak Sunday, beating the Bombers 5-4. The Yankees let an opportunity slip away. The Orioles also lost in Boston. On the one hand this means that the Yankees hold on to their one game lead in the division. On the other hand, the Yankees need to put some distance between themselves and Baltimore. Any opportunity to do so needs to be seized.

After Saturday’s marathon game the Yankees needed Hiroki Kuroda to give them length. He didn’t. Hiroki allowed five runs (four earned) in 5.2 innings of work. The rest of the bullpen was almost perfect, allowing just two base runners over 3.1 innings, but it was too little too late.

The A’s put runs on the board in the first and second innings, scoring first on a Kuroda wild pitch and in the second fame they plated two on a Cliff Pennington homer. Just like that it was Oakland three, Yankees nothing. But the Yankees came back. All the Yankee offense came in the fourth inning. Nick Swisher had the big hit, knocking a two run shot in a four run inning. The Yankees were up four to three after the fourth inning.

Unfortunately the lead wasn’t enough. Yoenis Cespedes singled home the tying run in the fifth before the A’s took the lead for good in the sixth. It’s always frustrating to a lose a one run game at home, especially one that sees the team score in only one inning.

The Yankees next head to Target Field to face the Twins. Every game is a must win right now with Baltimore breathing down the Yankees’ necks. Hopefully the Yankees can take advantage of the hapless Twins.