Yankees manage one hit, lose in 11th on DJ LeMahieu's throwing error

Yankees starting pitcher Domingo Germán reacts as he exits a game against the Athletics during the eighth inning in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday. Credit: AP/Godofredo A. Vásquez
OAKLAND, Calif. — The Yankees’ winning streak ended at five games Saturday night when their offense reverted to what it looked like much of the last month and Ron Marinaccio finally looked like a rookie.
They managed all of one hit and fell to the A’s, 3-2, in 11 innings.
Second baseman DJ LeMahieu threw wide of first base on what should have been an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play in the 11th, allowing ghost runner Shea Langeliers to score from second. After taking a short flip from Isiah Kiner-Falefa, LeMahieu would have had Chad Pinder at first by several steps, but he yanked his throw to the rightfield side of first. Anthony Rizzo, known for his exceptional footwork, stretched for the wide throw but did not come off the base to stop it, and when the ball went under his glove and rolled into the expansive foul territory here, the A’s had a win.
“Feel like I still should have made the play,’’ LeMahieu said. “He got my back foot [on the slide] but I probably should have cleared some space a little bit. He got my back foot and twisted me up a little bit.”
Said Aaron Boone, “There’s not many other people you’d want the ball in their hands right there. He just threw it wide.”
The Yankees challenged the play on the grounds that Sean Murphy had made an illegal slide into second, but the replay indicated no such thing. Said Boone, “Last play of the game, wanted to make sure it was clean. I think it was the right call.”
After the Yankees scored both of their runs in the top of the 10th against lefty A.J. Puk on the same wild pitch, pinch hitter Stephen Vogt tied it with one out in the bottom half against Marinaccio, lining a 1-and-0 changeup over the rightfield wall for his sixth homer. Marinaccio had allowed one run and four hits in 27 1⁄3 innings dating to May 22, and lefthanded hitters had been 4-for-56 against him.
“I felt like I was attacking the zone, throwing strikes, but he got me on that one there,’’ Marinaccio said. “Went to the changeup. Usually against the lefties, it’s a successful pitch for me. Probably not the best-executed one I threw.”
The Yankees’ only hit was a leadoff double in the sixth by Oswaldo Cabrera, who wound up getting caught stealing third by A’s starter Adam Oller.
“Just one of those nights couldn’t get a whole lot going,’’ LeMahieu said. “He pitched well. When we did hit the ball hard, I felt like it was right at somebody, and overall we just didn’t swing it very good.”
Kyle Higashioka started the 10th on second with Puk on the mound but was erased at third when Andrew Benintendi put down a poor bunt right back to the pitcher. Benintendi stole second as Aaron Judge struck out. Josh Donaldson was intentionally walked and Rizzo was hit on the right shoulder with a 94-mph fastball to load the bases.
With LeMahieu at the plate, A’s catcher Murphy couldn’t stop Puk’s pitch in the dirt. Benintendi scored, and when Murphy’s toss toward Puk got away, Donaldson came home, too.
Both starters were brilliant. Domingo German took a no-hitter into the sixth before allowing a one-out infield single on a ball he also threw away for an error. He allowed three hits and struck out five in 7 2⁄3 innings. “From the get-go, warming up in the bullpen, I felt like my pitches were there, they were sharp,’’ German said through his interpreter. “They were all working.”
“Using everything,’’ Boone said. “Breaking ball was really good. Both fastballs, his changeup. He was really sharp, really efficient. Awesome pace to him. Really good once again.”
Oller, 2-6 with a 6.41 ERA coming in, allowed one hit in eight innings. “We just couldn’t muster much,’’ Boone said. “He was dictating counts, he was getting ahead. We hit a few balls hard off of him but weren’t able to generate much.”