The New York Yankees saw their 13 game winning streak come to an end on Saturday against the Oakland Athletics. Losing 3-2, the Yankees offense simply couldn’t get them over the edge, despite and Aaron Judge’s ninth-inning home run. Recording just five hits on the day, Oakland starting pitcher, Frankie Montas was stellar, striking out six batters and allowing two hits over 7.0 innings.
The Bombers featured Nestor Cortes Jr. on the mound, who lasted 5.1 innings and gave up four hits and three earned runs before turning it over to the bullpen. Cortes hosts a 2.77 ERA this season and is one of the biggest surprises for a Yankee team that desperately needed starting pitching support with the loss of several players due to injury.
However, Cortes endured a few bad calls from the umpires, including one made by the third base ump who wasn’t in a position to make the correct call. After the game, Cortes took a shot at the decision and how the Yankees would likely still be in a position to steal a victory.
“At first I didn’t know what I did,” Cortes said. “I usually hang up and try to read the runner and stuff like that. I was very surprised that the third base umpire was the one that gave the call. It cost us a run. Right now we’d be tied in the ninth inning.”
Despite the loss, slugger Aaron Judge has been performing at an incredible level lately. Judge recorded three hits on four at-bats in the loss, including two RBIs on the night thing. This month alone, Judge has 34 hits, including six doubles and eight home runs over 98 at-bats. In his last five games, Judge has 12 hits and two homers, hitting over 50%. He currently hosts a .295 average with 29 homers and 72 RBIs. He ranks ninth in the league in OPS with a .929 percentage.
Despite his offensive success, Aaron was still frustrated by the loss and is already thinking about the team’s next winning streak.
“A loss is a loss. It’s time to start another streak, that’s all,” Judge said. “We didn’t get the job done, so it’s time to turn the page. (The streak) showed what we’re capable of. This team is capable of a lot of great things.”