The New York Yankees’ bats came alive in an historic inning against the Athletics on Sunday.
The Yankees piled on 13 runs in the third, following a rousing pep talk from Aaron Judge. The three-time American League MVP told his teammates that they needed to wake up after Athletics starter Jacob Lopez retired the first six batters he faced.
“I just felt like we were a little asleep there that first two innings. I expect more out of the guys and I know they expect more of themselves. A couple of choice words there just to get it going. The boys responded,” Judge said in what could have been the understatement of the year.
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It started with a calamity of errors for the A’s.
Lopez walked two batters after Anthony Volpe reached on a hit. He failed to cover first base when Paul Goldschmidt hit a grounder to the right side. Ben Rice, then, followed with a two-run double, followed by a Judge blooper and a Cody Bellinger RBI single
Lopez was removed from the game after Bellinger’s at bat. Reliever Michael Kelly allowed five batters to reach safely afterward.
The Yankees scored 10 runs before the first out was recorded in the inning. Goldschmidt came back around and struck out. Rice followed up with a two-run triple.
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“To bat around with no outs, it’s incredible,” Judge said. “That’s what this team is capable of doing. We got our backs up against the wall, find a way to dig ourselves out of it and to continue to keep the pressure on them. We needed all 13 of those runs.”
New York had 11 hits, four walks and four stolen bases in the inning. The 13 runs the Yankees scored was the most since doing it against the Tampa Bay Rays on June 21, 2005. It was one behind the franchise record for an inning, which was set July 6, 1920, against the Washington Senators.
It was the first time 12 consecutive batters reached safely in an inning since doing it against the Senators on Sept. 11, 1949, in the first game of a double header. It was just two batters away from an MLB record, which the Detroit Tigers set with 14 in the sixth inning on June 17, 1925.
“Remarkable,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Glad we were able to make it stand up. Obviously, a lot of really good things offensively. … I don’t think the prettiest game on either side, necessarily. But we were able to make a really outstanding inning stand up.”
While a boon for the Yankees, it was a nightmare for A’s manager Mark Kotsay.
“I really don’t know how to describe that inning,” Kotsay said. “Obviously, the two walks became an issue right away. Hit after hit, really. At some point you figure the ball’s going to go at someone, and it never did.”
New York won the game, 13-8.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.