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A's hold Yankees' offense scoreless, securing an unsightly shutout victory.
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Step aside from close no-hitters. Clarke Schmidt would've needed a perfect game to give the Yankees a fighting chance against the A's on Saturday.
It was far from that as Schmidt, who hadn't allowed a single run in his last three outings, surrendered four and watched the Yankees offense fail to show up, resulting in a disheartening 7-0 defeat at the hands of the struggling A's in New York.
The Yankees secured a win the previous day with a mere four hits, but on Saturday, they were stonewalled by former Yankee JP Sears and the A's bullpen.
The loss displayed several concerning patterns for the Yankees, who still sit comfortably in first place in the AL East. However, they often fail to exhibit the form expected from a first-place team. The shutouts the Yankees have suffered in their past dozen games is a frustrating leap from the previous two instances, which they endured in their first 69 contests.
Aaron Judge's slow stretch continued, and his teammates have not been able to pick up the slack. Judge nearly drove one out in the sixth and sealed the game with a questionable base running attempt at third base.
As Boone noted after the Yankees went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position, “In situations like these, it comes down to earning a big hit with runners on base.”
Giancarlo Stanton's homerless drought persists, having not cleared the fence since the elbow tendinitis strain that kept him sidelined for over two weeks. Slumps for Paul Goldschmidt, Anthony Volpe, DJ LeMahieu, and particularly Austin Wells add to the team's offensive woes.
Mistakes like the ones made by Wells on Max Muncy's bunt in the eighth, a miscommunication resulting in no out on the play, and a mishandled relay from Cody Bellinger to Jazz Chisholm Jr. later in the inning become more glaring in such circumstances.
- EXPLORE TODAY'S MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS**
Schmidt's solid outing in his most recent outing, which earned him a well-deserved win, came to an end in the sixth. Schmidt allowed his first earned run since April 21, ending his streak at 28 innings—a stretch not surpassed by a Yankee since 1951 when Allie Reynolds pitched 30 consecutive scoreless frames.
Schmidt's pitching prowess proved insufficient as the Yankees couldn't generate much offense against Sears, who delivered 5 2/3 shutout innings.
Sears displayed surprising dominance despite struggling in his previous starts. His ERA skyrocketed to 8.75 following his initial eight outings, only to follow that up with an 8 1/3 inning stretch during which he surrendered eight earned runs in his subsequent eight appearances heading into Saturday.
The Yankees posed a threat to the A's for the first (and only) time in the bottom of the third. LeMahieu started things off with a walk, but Sears quickly retired Jasson Domiguez and Goldschmidt. Volpe stepped up and drew a walk to load the bases for Judge.
Sears fell behind Judge 3-1 but managed to record an out on a fly to right field to keep the game scoreless.
Rooker homered off Schmidt in the following inning, making a significant impact on the game.
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Discover more newslettersThe Yankees could never truly recover after Schmidt walked the first two batters of the sixth, eventually allowing a three-run homer to Kurtz. The Yankees couldn't drive any runs in despite a hard-fought defensive play to end the game.
"We're slogging through a bit right now," said LeMahieu. "But I have complete faith that we'll turn things around."
"I've seen it for the past couple months. It's a long season… I know we'll be fine."
What do you think? Start a debate.
Footnotes:1. https://espn.com/mlb/player/_/id/45734/aaron-judge2. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/judgeaa01.shtml3. https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/aaron-judge-yanks-hit-number-70-on-home-run-friday4. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10077232-june-25-2025-aaron-judge-goes-yard-in-10th-home-run-streak5. https://www.si.com/mlb/yankees/news/aaron-judge-has-record-breaking-home-run-with-no-doubts-left-to-spare
In the heart of the MLB season, a tense encounter unfolded between the Yankees and the A's. Despite Clarke Schmidt's solid outing, the Yankees struggled to generate offense and fell 7-0. For baseball enthusiasts seeking a deeper understanding of the Yankees' fortunes, a subscription to Post Sports+ grants exclusive access to regular chats with Greg Joyce, providing insider perspectives on the team's performance. Explore today's MLB standings and Yankees stats to stay updated on their latest performances.
