About Yesterday: Athletics 7, Yankees 0

About Yesterday: Athletics 7, Yankees 0

By Derek McAdam

June 29, 2025

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EACH TEAM HAS PITCHED A SHUTOUT. TODAY IS THE RUNNER GAME. (Image created by Microsoft Copilot.)

The New York Yankees lost the second game of a three-game series against the Athletics by a score of 7-0, evening the series at one win apiece. Here’s a quick recap of yesterday’s game.

Quick Stats:

W: JP Sears (6-7): 5.2 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 4 K

L: Clarke Schmidt (4-4): 6 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K

S: Jack Perkins (1): 3.1 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 3 K

HRs: A’s: Brent Rooker (17), Nick Kurtz (12)

Yesterday’s loss was the Yankees sixth shutout of the season, five of which have come during the month of June.

The Big Story:

The Yankees came into yesterday afternoon’s game having won Friday night’s game by a score of 3-0. Clarke Schmidt took the mound and was coming off a start in which he allowed no hits against the Baltimore Orioles in seven innings of work. Former Yankee prospect JP Sears was starting for the A’s and came into the game 0-4 in his career against the Yankees.

In the 4th, Brent Rooker hit a solo home run into the left field seats to give the A’s a 1-0 lead, snapping Schmidt’s 28.1 IP scoreless streak.

In the 6th, after allowing a lead-off single and a walk, Schmidt faced Rooker, who struck out. The next batter, Kurtz, hit a three-run home run to bust the game open 4-0 in favor of the A’s.

In the 8th, Allan Winans loaded the bases with no outs when Tyler Soderstrom hit a sacrifice fly into left field to score Rooker and give the A’s a 5-0 lead. Austin Wynns then singled into center field, scoring two runs on a throwing error from Cody Bellinger to give the A’s a massive 7-0 lead.

Player of the Game:

For the first time in his career, Sears was able to shut the Yankees down and record his first win against the franchise. He looked like a completely different pitcher compared to the previous few times the Yankees have faced him.

Notable Performances:

Rooker’s home run was the ultimate deciding factor of this game, and he also scored an additional run for the A’s. Perkins also helped save the A’s bullpen for today’s game and did a fine job in relief for Sears.

Better to Forget:

Is this yet another game that the entire Yankee team just wants to forget? I think so. They’ve managed seven hits across two games against a team that is more than 15 games under .500. It is not a good sight to see.

My Take:

This was a matchup from the beginning that seemed to heavily favor the Yankees. Schmidt had been on a roll and Sears had not previously had any success against the Yankees. However, for the Yankees, yesterday’s game was another one in which the offense has struggled tremendously, which has become very common recently.

And while the offense did not necessarily come alive during Friday’s win, it definitely did not come alive yesterday. It is becoming a challenge for the starting rotation, which I believe played a factor into Schmidt’s struggles during the 6th inning. As of now, the pitching staff cannot afford to make multiple mistakes, and especially not those in which multiple runs score at one time.

As for the offense, not much seems to be clicking. Paul Goldschmidt was finally able to break his 0-for-20 slump yesterday, but he is still struggling to hit. Aaron Judge has not been hitting well, although he just missed a home run in the 6th. But no one is exactly “hot” at the plate right now. Sears shut the Yankees down and didn’t give up too much hard contact at the plate. It seems that whenever I cover the Yankees going up against a left-handed pitcher that doesn’t throw hard, they don’t hit well. Maybe it’s just me after all...

The Yankees are one of those teams that when they are losing, they are a boring team to watch. They’ve had teams in the past where losing scores would be 10-8 or 11-7, mostly high-scoring games. But, this is not the case this year. They have a solid pitching staff, but the offense really sinks during its low points.

I’ve seen trade rumors where the Yankees acquire another starting pitcher, which is exactly what this team does not need at this point, although they could always have more depth. What they need more than anything is another infielder than can hit. Of course, there is Nolan Arenado, who the Yankees attempted to acquire during the off-season. There’s also Eugenio Suarez who has recently popped up in rumors, although he may be a bit tougher to acquire.

Luckily, the month of June is almost over for the Yankees and they can try to put it behind them. Yes, the AL East is definitely close towards the top. And while I definitely am paying attention to it, I’m not too worried about it just yet. If they are still in the same or worse position a month from now, then it may be time to hit the panic button. But it’s not quite time.

The Yankees can still go for the series victory this afternoon, but they are going to need a solid start from Marcus Stroman, who had an ERA just under 7 in three rehab starts in Double-A. It will likely be a bullpen-heavy game, and the Yankees will still have at least another full week of games ahead of them following today’s game. Needless to say, it is going to be an interesting stretch of games.

What’s Next?:

The Yankees will be back in action this afternoon to cap off the final game of the series against the A’s. Former Yankee Luis Severino is scheduled to start for the A’s, while Stroman is making his first start since April 11. First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. EST from Yankee Stadium.