Not Quite the Sack of Sacramento

The pink gloves are for Mother's Day,

to raise money for breast cancer research.

With the formerly Philadelphia, Kansas City and Oakland Athletics waiting for their Las Vegas stadium to open, the Yankees made their 1st visit to the A's stopgap home, Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, California.

In 3 games, the Yankees scored 29 runs. That should have meant a sweep. It wasn't.

On Friday night, Will Warren pitched his best game as a Yankee so far: 7 1/3rd innings, 1 run, 4 hits, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts. He did his job. The hitters did theirs, especially Jasson Domínguez, who became the youngest Yankee ever to hit 3 home runs in a game. He had 7 RBIs on the night. Paul Goldschmidt also hit a home run, and the Yankees won, 10-2.

Carlos Rodón did his part on Saturday afternoon, going, 6 innings, allowing 4 runs on 8 hits, but no walks, striking out 10. Aaron Judge hit 2 home runs, and Oswald Peraza hit one. The Yankees led 6-4 going into the 7th inning stretch. That should have been enough.

It wasn't. Fernando Cruz had nothing, allowing 3 runs in the 7th. Between them, Ian Hamilton and Tyler Matzek allowed 4 in the 8th. The A's won, 11-7.

With Sunday being another "hole in the rotation" day, the Yankees needed Ryan Yarbrough to fill that hole. He did, going 5 innings, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits and a walk. Judge went 4-for-5 with 2 RBIs. We're almost one-quarter of the way through the season, and he's batting .409. Goldschmidt went 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs. And Ben Rice hit a grand slam. This time, the bullpen held the A's off, and the Yankees won, 12-2.

It wasn't quite a Sack of Sacramento, but 2 out of 3 on the road is always worth taking.

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The Yankees are 23-17, on a pace for a record of 93-69. They lead the American League Eastern Division by 2 games over the Boston Red Sox, 3 over the Toronto Blue Jays, 5 over the Tampa Bay Rans, and 7 1/2 over the Baltimore Orioles.

It's way too soon to list the Magic Number to clinch the Division.

Tonight, the Yankees continue their Pacific Coast roadtrip, against the Seattle Mariners.