NEW YORK - The Oakland Athletics scored three times in the 10th inning without hitting a ball out of the infield, beating Mariano Rivera and the bumbling New York Yankees 6-3 Friday night.
Barry Zito pitched effectively into the eighth, and Oakland got home runs from Eric Byrnes and Bobby Kielty to end a three-game skid.
It was a tough day at the track and the ballpark for Yankees manager Joe Torre, who watched on TV in his clubhouse office as his heavily favored filly, Sis City, finished fourth in the Kentucky Oaks about 90 minutes before the game.
The Yankees will have an eye on Churchill Downs on Saturday, too: George Steinbrenner owns Kentucky Derby favorite Bellamy Road.
But on the baseball field, the $200 million Yankees (11-19) look
nothing like thoroughbreds.
They have lost four straight and eight of 10, leaving them tied for last place in the AL East with Tampa Bay. New York, which entered with the second-worst ERA in the AL at 5.16, is eight games under .500 for the first time since June 21, 1995, when it was 21-29 after winning that day, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The Yankees made three errors in the 10th - two on one play by first baseman Tino Martinez. Rivera (2-2) issued a leadoff walk to Marco Scutaro and, one out later, hit Jason Kendall with an 0-2 pitch.
Eric Chavez's infield single loaded the bases, and Scott Hatteberg hit a one-hopper that Martinez knocked down. But he failed to step on the bag as he made an ill-advised throw to the plate, which earned him his first error.
Martinez had little chance to get Scutaro, and his throw was way wide for a second error, allowing another run to score. After a two-out error by third baseman Alex Rodriguez, Rivera forced in a third run with a walk to Keith Ginter.
Oakland batted around against Rivera, who pitched more than one inning for the first time this year.
Octavio Dotel (1-0) worked 1 2-3 hitless innings for the win, and Kiko Calero got two outs for his first save.
Zito took a 3-1 lead into the eighth before the Yankees rallied. John Flaherty drew a leadoff walk and was erased when Robinson Cano grounded into a fielder's choice.
Chavez made a diving stop of Derek Jeter's infield single to third but bounced his throw to first for an error, allowing Cano to reach third. Pinch-hitter Jorge Posada came through with an RBI single, cutting it to 3-2 and chasing Zito.
Jeter and Posada then pulled off a daring double steal, leaving runners at second and third. Jeter scored the tying run on Gary Sheffield's RBI grounder against Dotel.
But the inning ended when Posada was thrown out at third trying to advance on Dotel's pitch behind Rodriguez. The ball glanced off Kendall's mitt but didn't roll very far away.
Zito had his second solid outing in a row after an 0-4 start. The 2002 AL Cy Young Award winner gave up three runs and six hits in 7 1-3 innings.
Yankees starter Carl Pavano got through seven innings with the help of two double plays. He allowed three runs, seven hits and three walks.
Hideki Matsui, in a 4-for-37 slump, hit a two-out RBI triple off center fielder Mark Kotsay's glove in the first inning to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. Zito retired his next 11 batters before a one-out double by Andy Phillips in the fifth, but he was stranded.
Byrnes hit his third homer leading off the third. Hatteberg drew a leadoff walk from Pavano in the fourth, and Kielty drove the next pitch over the right-field fence for his second homer and a 3-1 Oakland lead.
The A's entered last in the majors in slugging percentage (.347) and 13th out of 14 AL teams in homers with only 19.
Notes: The start was delayed 17 minutes because of rain. ... Kendall got his first stolen base of the season in the third. ... Pavano was hit in the leg by Kotsay's fifth-inning liner but stayed in the game.
It was a tough day at the track and the ballpark for Yankees manager Joe Torre, who watched on TV in his clubhouse office as his heavily favored filly, Sis City, finished fourth in the Kentucky Oaks about 90 minutes before the game.
The Yankees will have an eye on Churchill Downs on Saturday, too: George Steinbrenner owns Kentucky Derby favorite Bellamy Road.
But on the baseball field, the $200 million Yankees (11-19) look
nothing like thoroughbreds.
They have lost four straight and eight of 10, leaving them tied for last place in the AL East with Tampa Bay. New York, which entered with the second-worst ERA in the AL at 5.16, is eight games under .500 for the first time since June 21, 1995, when it was 21-29 after winning that day, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The Yankees made three errors in the 10th - two on one play by first baseman Tino Martinez. Rivera (2-2) issued a leadoff walk to Marco Scutaro and, one out later, hit Jason Kendall with an 0-2 pitch.
Eric Chavez's infield single loaded the bases, and Scott Hatteberg hit a one-hopper that Martinez knocked down. But he failed to step on the bag as he made an ill-advised throw to the plate, which earned him his first error.
Martinez had little chance to get Scutaro, and his throw was way wide for a second error, allowing another run to score. After a two-out error by third baseman Alex Rodriguez, Rivera forced in a third run with a walk to Keith Ginter.
Oakland batted around against Rivera, who pitched more than one inning for the first time this year.
Octavio Dotel (1-0) worked 1 2-3 hitless innings for the win, and Kiko Calero got two outs for his first save.
Zito took a 3-1 lead into the eighth before the Yankees rallied. John Flaherty drew a leadoff walk and was erased when Robinson Cano grounded into a fielder's choice.
Chavez made a diving stop of Derek Jeter's infield single to third but bounced his throw to first for an error, allowing Cano to reach third. Pinch-hitter Jorge Posada came through with an RBI single, cutting it to 3-2 and chasing Zito.
Jeter and Posada then pulled off a daring double steal, leaving runners at second and third. Jeter scored the tying run on Gary Sheffield's RBI grounder against Dotel.
But the inning ended when Posada was thrown out at third trying to advance on Dotel's pitch behind Rodriguez. The ball glanced off Kendall's mitt but didn't roll very far away.
Zito had his second solid outing in a row after an 0-4 start. The 2002 AL Cy Young Award winner gave up three runs and six hits in 7 1-3 innings.
Yankees starter Carl Pavano got through seven innings with the help of two double plays. He allowed three runs, seven hits and three walks.
Hideki Matsui, in a 4-for-37 slump, hit a two-out RBI triple off center fielder Mark Kotsay's glove in the first inning to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. Zito retired his next 11 batters before a one-out double by Andy Phillips in the fifth, but he was stranded.
Byrnes hit his third homer leading off the third. Hatteberg drew a leadoff walk from Pavano in the fourth, and Kielty drove the next pitch over the right-field fence for his second homer and a 3-1 Oakland lead.
The A's entered last in the majors in slugging percentage (.347) and 13th out of 14 AL teams in homers with only 19.
Notes: The start was delayed 17 minutes because of rain. ... Kendall got his first stolen base of the season in the third. ... Pavano was hit in the leg by Kotsay's fifth-inning liner but stayed in the game.
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