Alex Rodriguez provided most of the offense and CC Sabathia took care of the Oakland offense Monday night. Rodriguez homered twice and drove in five, while Sabathia allowed one run in 7.2 innings as New York defeated Oakland, 6-1, at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.
New York won their fourth straight and guaranteed their fifth consecutive series win in Oakland. The Athletics, who are 1-4 against the Yankees this season, are only batting .172 (25-145) against New York pitching this season.
Rodriguez’s first home run of the evening occurred in New York’s five-run top of the third. After Derek Jeter’s RBI fielder’s choice tied the game at one, Mark Teixeira was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Rodriguez then sent a 3-1 pitch over the left centerfield wall for his 13th home run of the season.
It was his third grand slam of the season and his 21st career grand slam. Rodriguez also hit three grand slams in a season in 1996, 1999 and 2007.
In the top of the sixth inning, Rodriguez extended the Yankees lead. With one out, Rodriguez homered over the center field wall to give New York a 6-1 advantage.
While Rodriguez provided the power, Sabathia (11-3) shut down the Oakland offense after allowing a first inning run. He allowed one run on seven hits over 7.2 innings while striking out a season-high 10 and walking three. Sabathia entered the game 2-5 with a 5.95 ERA in his career at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.
With the win, Sabathia tied a career-high with a victory in seven consecutive starts. He also won seven straight starts with Cleveland from Aug. 5 to Sept. 7, 2005.
Trevor Cahill (8-3) suffered his first home loss of the season. Cahill , who was 4-0 with a 1.35 ERA at home this season, allowed six runs on four hits over six innings. He struck out four and walked one.
Cahill has only allowed 14 hits in his last four starts. Oakland opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the first. Coco Crisp led off with a single and advanced to third on a stolen base and wild pitch. With two outs, Kevin Kouzmanoff doubled down the third base line to score Crisp and give the Athletics the early lead.
New York and Oakland will complete their three-game series on Wednesday. A.J. Burnett (6-7, 4.90), who has not won since May 30, will start for the Yankees. The Athletics will send
Gio Gonzalez (7-5, 3.50) to the mound. First pitch is set for 10:05 p.m. ET.
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