New York Yankees Win Series in Oakland

With a dominating 10-4 victory over the lowly Oakland Athletics, the New York Yankees have finally gotten a pesky monkey off their backs.

Cali Crushing. #RepBX pic.twitter.com/RHOCqZFQET
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 29, 2023

For whatever reason, the team would struggle greatly when playing in the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, having not won a series there since 2016 and compiling a 14-25 record in Oakland since 2012.

Yankees are 14-25 at the Oakland Coliseum since 2012. #RepBX pic.twitter.com/2l5o36Tp1Y
— sandy stats (@sandy_stats) June 28, 2023

The Yankees were in danger of extending that winless streak after losing a frustrating series opener 2-1, but after back to back games with double digit run totals- and a perfect game by Domingo German- the dubious streak is over.

An eight-run sixth inning, beginning with a two-run home run by Josh Donaldson, put New York ahead for good.

It's gonna rain ☔️ pic.twitter.com/9AKOkI1lz4
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 29, 2023

The Yankees inability to win a series in Oakland has hurt them in past seasons. In 2017, the Athletics swept the Bronx Bombers in a four-game set; the Yankees were in first place in the AL East at the time, but the sweep triggered a slump that allowed the Boston Red Sox to take first place, and they wouldn’t let it go. As such, the Yankees entered the playoffs as a Wild Card that year.

After the A’s won two of three in the Coliseum in 2018 (the Yankees avenged this series loss by beating Oakland in the AL Wild Card Game), the Yanks were swept there in 2019, this time in a three-game set. At the time, the Yankees were battling the Houston Astros for the top seed in the American League, but Oakland was also battling Houston for the AL West. Ultimately, Houston would win both the division and edged out the Yankees for the number one seed; this wound up being important in the playoffs, as the Astros won two games in walk-off fashion to win the series in six.

With no series in 2020, the two teams met again in August 2021 for a four-game set. The Yankees were riding an 11-game winning streak heading into the Coliseum, and extended it to 13 with wins in the first two games. But Oakland snapped the winning streak with a win in Game 3, and secured a split in Game 4 thanks to an eighth-inning, go-ahead two-run home run by the light-hitting Tony Kemp. Game 4 was one of many painful losses the Yankees endured that year, and it triggered a slump that almost cost them a playoff spot (they would lose to Boston in the Wild Card Game).

Even with the Athletics on their way to a 100+ loss season in 2022, New York still couldn’t secure a series in Oakland. It was deja vu of 2019 and 2021, as the Yankees, despite being in a brutal slump, were again chasing the Astros for the best record in the AL. They again won the first two games, but in the third game, a dramatic game-tying home run by Stephen Vogt in extra innings sparked an Athletics victory, and they secured another split with a win the next day. Houston already had a sizable lead for the top seed, and New York’s inability to finish Oakland made their deficit insurmountable.

But in 2023, the Athletics have looked worse than they did at any point in 2022, and are on pace to have one of the worst seasons in MLB history and even challenge the 1962 New York Mets’ record for losses in a season (the 1962 Mets, however, have the legitimate excuse of being a first-year expansion team). Despite being in a terrible offensive slump in June, the Yankees had a perfect opportunity to get back on track.

The offensive woes continued in the series opener, but the Bronx Bombers would finally live up to their name by scoring 21 runs over the next two games to take the series. The Yankees now leave their former house of horrors with confidence, while the A’s continue to trudge toward baseball futility.

Although this series could be viewed as a turning point in the Yankees’ season so far, it should also remind Yankee fans to be grateful for what they have. The Athletics’ situation is the classic baseball movie Major League occurring in real life, and unlike that classic comedy, there likely won’t be a happy ending.

The perfect game by German in the middle game is the low point of a nightmare season for the A’s- and is an indictment on owner John J. Fisher and his neglect of the product on the field, only caring for the franchise’s monetary value and securing a new stadium in Las Vegas.

The A's and Giants are planning a joint-protest against John Fisher and MLB during their "Battle of the Bay" series in July 👀 pic.twitter.com/oe8EKCq7Ak
— The Game Day MLB (@TheGameDayMLB) June 23, 2023

The Yankees have finally won a series in Oakland- and it could also be the final time they play a series there.

The Yankees continue their road trip on Friday against another struggling team in the St. Louis Cardinals. First pitch is at 8:15 pm ET.