Oakland A’s vs. New York Yankees RECAP, score and stats | AL Wild Card (10/3/18)

The New York Yankees, who finished second in the American League East, met the Oakland A’s, who finished second in the AL West, in a one-game AL Wild Card Playoff Game on Wednesday, October 3, 2018 (10/3/18) at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. Luis Severino will start for the Yankees against Liam Hendricks of the A’s.

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The New York Yankees, who finished second in the American League East, met the Oakland Athletics, who finished second in the AL West, in a one-game AL Wild Card Playoff Game on Wednesday, October 3, 2018 (10/3/18) at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York.

Luis Severino (19-8, 3.39) started for the Yankees against Liam Hendricks (0-1, 4.13) of the A’s.

Check the scoreboard above for the final score and click on the stats link for game stats.

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A’s vs. Yanks: Breakdown of AL Wild Card

Complete AL Wild Card coverage here

Here’s the AP recap:

NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge got the party started with a two-run homer nine pitches in . By the time Giancarlo Stanton capped the mauling with monstrous drive in his postseason debut , New York Yankees fans already were looking ahead.

“We want Boston!” they chanted.

Coming up next.

“It’s going to be intense,” CC Sabathia predicted after the Yankees pounded the Oakland Athletics 7-2 on Wednesday night to win their second straight AL wild-card game.

New York will take a train to Boston for a best-of-five Division Series starting Friday night, a matchup of 100-win heavyweights.

“I think they’re ready and relish the opportunity to go up against the game’s best this year,” Yankees rookie manager Aaron Boone said of his players.

Boone remains a dirty word among the Fenway Park faithful. His 11th-inning homer in Game 7 of the 2003 AL Championship Series beat the Red Sox. A year later Boston overcame the Yankees and became the first major league team to bounce back from a 3-0 postseason deficit. The Red Sox went on to win their first World Series since 1918, but Boone’s drive off Tim Wakefield has not been forgotten or forgiven.

Boston went 10-9 against the Yankees this year and set a club record with 108 wins. New York became the first team since the 2001 A’s to reach triple digits in wins and fail to finish first.

“We’ve just got to do our homework and come out swinging,” said Luke Voit, who broke open the game with a two-run triple in a four-run sixth .

Luis Severino atoned for last year’s flop in the wild-card game against Minnesota, pitching no-hit shutout ball into the fifth . Dellin Betances entered with two on and got six straight outs as part of a five-hitter and the Yankees extending their home postseason winning streak to seven.

Severino let out a primal scream after escaping a bases-loaded jam in the fourth with a 99.6 fastball — his fastest pitch of the night — to strike out Marcus Semien .

Yankees fans fretted about an all-or-nothing knockout match, thinking back to last year when Severino fell behind Minnesota 3-0 just 10 pitches in. New York rallied for an 8-4 win against the Twins, but the memory remained raw.

Severino retired his first three batters in order on 10 pitches

“I think the first inning was huge for me, after all the stuff that people say on social media, all of that stuff,” he explained.

Andrew McCutchen walked leading off the bottom half against reliever-turned starter Liam Hendricks, and Judge hit a drive over the left-field scoreboard, joining Reggie Jackson as the only Yankees with four home runs in their first seven postseason home games.

“I was already excited from the national anthem on,” said Judge, who hit his second homer since returning in mid-September after missing seven weeks with a broken right wrist.

Short on options, A’s manager Bob Melvin opted for baseball’s latest fad: starting a reliever. Hendriks (the loser) had not allowed a home run since June 24, the night before he was cut from the major league roster.

“Got into some bad counts and they made me pay,” Hendriks said.

Voit’s two-run triple missed a home run by inches. Stanton added a 443-foot drive off closer Blake Treinen in the eighth that landed in left field’s second deck, completing a power show by the team that set a major league record for most home runs in a season. Stanton’s drive left the bat at 117.4 mph and Judge’s 116.1 mph, the hardest-hit postseason home runs since measuring began in 2015.

A sellout crowd enjoyed one of those boisterous Bronx celebrations that used to be an October staple.

“Early in the game they’re going to be loud. It’s our job to try to take them out of it,” Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. “This is a tough ballpark to play in.”

Oakland has lost eight straight winner-take-all postseason games since beating Willie Mays and the New York Mets in Game 7 of the 1973 World Series, and dropped all four of their postseason matchups against the Yankees.

“It’s pretty hard but I’m not disappointed at all,” said big league home run champion Khris Davis, who hit a two-run homer off Zach Britton in the eighth . “I think we showed some people we can do some things and I think next year, we’re a little bit more of a threat.”

Severino was 14-2 at the All-Star break this year but slumped badly in the second half, and Boone’s decision to start the 24-year-old right-hander against the A’s instead of J.A. Happ or Masahiro Tanaka was intensely debated — the type of argument Boone used to enjoy as a television analyst who broadcast last year’s wild-card game.

Severino made the move look like genius. He threw nine fastballs in the first inning, then switched to more offspeed. He threw 36 fastballs, 37 sliders and 14 changeups in all.

“Because they’re patient and they’re dangerous, you’ve got to be able to mix those pitches and you’ve got to be able to throw strikes with all those pitches,” Boone said.

He struck out seven his first time through the batting order, but wound up walking four as he pitched carefully. Jonathan Lucroy and Nick Martini singled leading off the fifth, and Boone signaled for Betances to relieve.

This time, Severino had a no-decision to savor.

Betances retired Matt Chapman on a liner to right and Jed Lowrie on a fly to center, then struck out Davis with a slider and gleefully backpedaled off the mound .

“I’ve been waiting for this moment a long time. Last year I was a cheerleader,” Betances said, reflecting on his reduced role last October after late-season control problems.

New York opened a 6-0 lead in the bottom half. Judge started it with a double — his grounder hit about a foot foul just beyond the batter’s box, then twisted fair down the line . Aaron Hicks followed with another double off Fernando Rodney.

After Treinen walked Stanton, and Voit hit an opposite-field drive to right, thinking it was a home run and raising his right arm at the plate. He chugged into third with his first big league triple and let loose with a holler.

The burly Voit tumbled across the plate, actually making a nifty slide , to just make it home on Didi Gregorius’ sacrifice fly.

Betances (the winner) pitched a perfect sixth and David Robertson a 1-2-3 seventh. Aroldis Chapman followed Britton and finished with the final two of 13 strikeouts by New York pitchers .

Oakland was a little engine that could, coming off three straight last-place finishes and last in opening-day payroll before creeping up to 28th following midseason acquisitions to bolster its injury devastated pitching staff. The A’s managed to win 97 games despite a half-dozen starting pitchers getting hurt.

“We feel like with the group that we have here together that we’re going to get better each and every year,” Melvin said.

While he spoke, the Yankees were spraying Chandon in a soggy clubhouse filled with the sweet smell of California brut.

“This place was crazy tonight,” Stanton said. “Everything I would have expected and more.”

Here’s what you need to know:

Who: Athletics vs. Yankees

What: AL Wild Card Playoff game

When: Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018

Where: Yankee Stadium

Time: 8 p.m. Eastern

TV: TBS

Livestream: MLB.com, Watch TBS, fuboTV

Line: Yankees -176

Season Series: Split 3-3.

Projected Lineups

Athletics: LF Nick Martini (.296, 1 HR, 19 RBIs), 3B Matt Chapman (.278, 24, 68, 42 2Bs, 100 runs), 2B Jed Lowrie (.267, 23, 99, 37 2Bs), DH Khris Davis (.247, 48, 123), RF Stephen Piscotty (.267, 27, 88, 41 2Bs), 1B Matt Olson (.247, 29, 84), SS Marcus Semien (.255, 15, 70), CF Ramon Laureano (.288, 5, 19 in 48 games), C Jonathan Lucroy (.241, 4, 51).

Yankees: LF Andrew McCutchen (.255, 20, 65 for Pirates and Yankees) or Brett Gardner (.236, 12, 45, 16 SBs), RF Aaron Judge (.278, 27, 67, 152 Ks in 112 games), SS Didi Gregorius (.268, 27, 86 in 134 games), DH Giancarlo Stanton (.266, 38, 100, 211 Ks), CF Aaron Hicks (.248, 27, 79 in 137 games), 3B Miguel Andujar (.297, 27, 92, 47 2Bs), 1B Luke Voit (.322, 15, 36 in 47 games for Cardinals and Yankees; .333, 14, 33 in 39 games with Yankees), C Gary Sanchez (.186, 18, 53 in 89 games), 2B Gleyber Torres (.271, 24, 77 in 123 games).

Starting Pitchers

Athletics: RH Liam Hendriks (0-1, 4.13 ERA overall; 0-1, 2.08 in 8 games as “opener”).

Yankees: RH Luis Severino (19-8, 3.39, 220 Ks).

Relievers

Athletics: RH Blake Treinen (9-2, 0.78 ERA, 38/43 saves, .158 BA against), RH Jeurys Familia (8-6, 3.13, 18/24 saves with A’s and Mets), RH Fernando Rodney (4-3, 3.36, 25/32 saves with A’s and Twins), RH Lou Trivino (8-3, 2.92, 4 saves), LH Ryan Buchter (6-0, 2.75), RH Shawn Kelley (2-0, 2.94 with A’s and Nationals), RH Yusmeiro Petit (7-3, 3.00), RH Emilio Pagan (3-1, 4.35), RH J.B. Wendelken (0-0, 0.54 in 13 games), RH Mike Fiers (12-8, 3.56 with A’s and Tigers) or LH Brett Anderson (4-5, 4.48).

Yankees: LH Aroldis Chapman (3-0, 2.45, 32/34 saves, .136 BA against, 93 Ks in 51 1/3 IP), RH Dellin Betances (4-6, 2.70, 4 saves, 115 Ks in 66 2/3 IP), LH Zach Britton (2-0, 3.10, 7/10 saves for Orioles and Yankees), RH David Robertson (8-3, 3.23, 5 saves), RH Chad Green (8-3, 2.50), RH Jonathan Holder (1-3, 3.14), LH J.A. Happ (17-6, 3.65 for Blue Jays and Yankees; 7-0, 2.69 in 11 starts with Yankees), RH Masahiro Tanaka (12-6, 3.75), RP Lance Lynn (10-10, 4.77 for Cardinals and Yankees).

Matchups

This is the fourth postseason meeting between the franchises. Yankees swept Oakland in the 1981 ALCS and won Division Series in five games in 2000 and ’01. … Yankees took two of three from A’s at home in May, and Oakland did the same in September. … Series matches two of the top three home run-hitting teams in the majors. Yankees launched a big league-record 267 this year, while A’s finished with 227. Oakland set franchise record with 569 extra-base hits. … Oakland hit 135 homers on the road, third-most all-time. … A’s averaged 5.5 runs per game on the road, best in the majors and almost a run higher than at home. … Lucroy leads the majors with 31 runners thrown out stealing, but Yankees aren’t much of a threat on the bases with only 63 stolen bases. … Laureano leads majors with nine outfield assists since making his debut Aug. 3. … New York skipper Aaron Boone will be managing his first postseason game after replacing Joe Girardi last offseason.

Big Picture

Athletics: Oakland finished last in AL West the past three seasons before breaking through this year under manager Bob Melvin. The A’s (97-65) were just 34-36 on June 15 and 11 games out of a playoff spot before going a major league-best 63-29 the rest of the way. … Oakland is making its ninth playoff appearance this century but has advanced past the Division Series just once, in 2006. The team is 1-13 during that span with a chance to move on, including a 9-8 loss in 12 innings to Kansas City in the 2014 wild-card game. … The 22-win improvement from last year is the third-biggest turnaround in Oakland history. … Oakland is 70-2 when leading after seven innings, with the only losses coming after a playoff berth was clinched. A’s also went a major league-best 31-14 in one-run games. … Following injuries to Sean Manaea, Jharel Cotton and several others, the A’s made do with a patchwork rotation all year. The only starter who began the season with the team and remains on the active roster is Daniel Mengden. Melvin used 15 starters, frequently employing a reliever in an “opener” role down the stretch. None of the team’s five starters to begin the season are expected to be on the wild-card roster. The A’s got 45 wins out of their bullpen, thanks in part to the “opener” strategy. … Davis led the majors in homers and leads all players with 133 over the past three seasons. … A’s were last in the majors in steals (35) and second-to-last in sacrifice bunts (6). … Trivino had a 1.16 ERA over his first 45 games and an 8.20 mark in his final 22.

Yankees: Reliant on the home run, the Bronx Bombers wanted the win-or-go-home game at Yankee Stadium, where they were 53-28 during the regular season. … New York became the first team to hit 20 or more home runs from all nine slots in the batting order, a big reason behind the Yankees’ 100-62 record, their best since winning the 2009 World Series. Still, they finished eight games behind rival Boston in the AL East. … Several key players are coming off injuries. Judge missed seven weeks with a broken right wrist, returned in mid-September and hit .220 with one homer and six RBIs in 13 games. … Gregorius missed five games in late September after tearing cartilage in his right wrist while sliding across home plate to score the run that clinched a postseason berth. Hicks, who doubled in Gregorius with that run, missed three games during the final week with left hamstring tightness. Chapman did not pitch between Aug. 21 and Sept. 20 because of left knee tendinitis. … Yankees are hosting AL wild-card game for third time in four years. They lost to Houston in 2015 and beat Minnesota last season even though Severino got just one out in the first inning. He left with a 3-0 deficit, but the bullpen came through and the bats responded.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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