by This looked like a smooth night early… and then the fourth inning flipped the entire game.
They jumped on Luis Severino early.
They had Yankee Stadium in a good place right out of the gate.
And then the offense basically disappeared.
That is the story here. Not complicated. Not deep. Not some mystery that needs twenty angles.
The Yankees scored two runs in the first inning on three straight singles, a bases-loaded walk, and that was it. Nothing after that. No answer in the middle innings. No late push. No counterpunch after the Athletics tied it. Just a whole lot of empty at-bats and missed chances in a game that was sitting right there.
A Fast Start Meant Nothing
The Yankees came out looking ready to bury Severino early.
Belli gets the scoring started 🙌 pic.twitter.com/jlrso3NAbx
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 8, 2026
Trent Grisham singled. Aaron Judge singled. Cody Bellinger dropped in a bloop single that brought home the first run. Then J.C. Escarra drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 2-0.
At that point, you are thinking alright, keep the pressure on. Severino did not exactly look sharp. He walked five guys in five innings. His command was shaky. He was absolutely there to be finished off.
And the Yankees just never finished the job.
They got four hits all night. Four.
After the first inning, they did not score again.
The Missed Chances Were Everywhere
This is where the game gets annoying.
The Yankees had seven walks. They got traffic. They had openings. And they still went 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position.
That is how you lose a game like this.
Ben Rice had his first four-strikeout game in the majors. Jazz Chisholm Jr. struck out twice and walked twice. Giancarlo Stanton went hitless. Ryan McMahon, making his first big league start at shortstop, went 0 for 3 with a walk and is now sitting at 2 for 26 on the season.
That is not just one guy having a rough night. That is a lineup going quiet together.
And when a lineup goes that quiet, every little mistake starts to feel bigger.
Will Warren Battled, But The Game Flipped
Will Warren was not dominant, but he gave them a chance.
He worked 4 2/3 innings, allowed two runs, and kept the game from getting away even when traffic started building. The Athletics tied it in the fourth on Jeff McNeil’s RBI single and a wild pitch that brought home another run.
Not clean, but manageable.
Tim Hill, Camilo Doval, and Brent Headrick then combined to keep Oakland off the board into the ninth. So again, the Yankees had every opportunity to find one more run somewhere.
They never did.
Ninth Inning Says Everything
Then came the top of the ninth.
David Bednar gave up a leadoff single to Nick Kurtz. Shea Langeliers followed with a double. Suddenly the Athletics had second and third with nobody out, and the whole stadium could feel where this was heading.
Brent Rooker then lifted a sacrifice fly to center, Kurtz scored easily, and that was the game.
Just like that, 2-0 became 2-2 and then 3-2 Oakland.
And the bottom of the ninth? Quick. Quiet. Over.
J.C. Escarra grounded out. Amed Rosario grounded out. McMahon struck out swinging.
That was your finish.
This One Is On The Offense
Listen, you can point to the Bednar inning. That is fair. You can point to the errors by Rice and Rosario. Also fair.
But the biggest reason the Yankees lost this game is they stopped hitting after the first inning.
You are not going to win many games scoring two runs in the opening frame and then doing absolutely nothing for the next eight innings.
Especially against a bullpen that threw four hitless innings in relief.
That is the part that should bother people. Because this was a very winnable game. Severino was giving out walks. The Athletics did not exactly overwhelm them. The Yankees just let the game sit there until Oakland finally took it.
And that is what makes losses like this sting more. Not because they got crushed.
Because they did not.
Because they should have had this one.
Instead, they let it drift. And once it drifted into the ninth, it was gone.
Final score: Athletics 3, Yankees 2.
That is one the Yankees absolutely gave away.
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