The most intriguing storyline to watch in the Yankees’ series finale against the Athletics on Sunday was how Luis Severino would match up against the Bombers. While Severino was on the crosstown rival Mets last year, he didn’t end up facing the Yankees in any of those two teams meetings last year, meaning this would be his first career start against the team that signed him way back in 2011. This probably wasn’t how he envisioned things going down.
Led by old friend Aaron Judge, the Yankees’ offense got to Severino early and often, eventually chasing him from the game after eight runs and four innings. They didn’t particularly stop there either, continuing the onslaught against the A’s bullpen. In total, eight different Yankees recorded a hit, and all nine starters were on base at least once. Meanwhile, they also got a perfectly good spot start from Ryan Yarbrough, allowing the Yankees to wrap up their first ever trip to Sacramento with a blowout 12-2 win over the Athletics.
The Yankees got on the board first against their former teammate. Paul Goldschmidt led off the inning with a ground-rule double after his hit got lodged in the outfield wall. He actually ran to third, but was sent back to second after a review. (Although it technically was, it felt very generous to say that the ball was “lodged” in there. But whatever.) Goldschmidt ended up on third anyway when Severino threw a wild pitch, setting the Yankees up for what came next.
Following a Jasson Domínguez walk, Anthony Volpe dropped in a single to open the scoring. Austin Wells added another single that only loaded the bases, as Domínguez had to hold up to see if it dropped in. Severino then proceeded to walk in a run by putting on Oswaldo Cabrera. He then got an out with a slow Jorbit Vivas grounder, but that plated Volpe from third. Ben Rice was plunked to reload the bases, and Judge put the cherry on top of the inning with a two-RBI single.
New York tacked on another run in the third, with Domínguez managing to go from first to home on a Cabrera double to make it 6-0.
Tasked with another spot start, Yarbrough made it through the first couple innings without damage, but the A’s then got on the board themselves in the fourth. With Brent Rooker and Tyler Soderstrom on after singles, another former Yankee in green and gold plated the Athletics’ first run of the game, as Miguel Andujar dropped a single to drop in no-man’s land between a couple fielders.
Two hits to start the fifth inning chased Severino from the game after four frames. He ended up allowing eight runs — more on that in a second — on nine hits, two walks, and a hit-by-pitch.
Reliever Mitch Spence hit Austin Wells with a pitch to load the bases, but he came close to a Houdini act by inducing a groundout from Cabrera and fanning Vivas. An out away from escaping with a tough-but-still-manageable 6-1 deficit, Rice refused to let Spence off the hook. The DH went deep for his first career grand slam, getting the Yankees into double digits for the game.
A couple more hits after that — including Judge’s third of the day — eventually led to Goldschmidt adding another run with a RBI double. The Yankees now led, 11-1.
The Athletics got another run back on a JJ Bleday homer in the fifth, which ended up being the only other run allowed by Yarbrough. In five frames, Yarbrough allowed two runs on six hits and a walk. That’s a more-than-solid-enough outing for an emergency fifth starter.
In the seventh, Judge record his fourth hit of the day, and not to be outdone, Goldschmidt got his third as the Yankees tacked on another run. Judge’s .409 batting average and Goldschmidt’s .349 currently rank first and second in the majors, respectively.
Giddy up…Aaron Judge with a .409 batting average
Yankees Batting .400+ Through 40 Team Games
1956 Mickey Mantle .430
1994 Paul O’Neill .465
2025 Aaron Judge .409MLB’s highest AVG at the 40-game mark since David Wright’s .409 with the Mets in 2012
— James Smyth (@jamessmyth621.bsky.social) 2025-05-11T23:02:27.418Z
In relief of Yarbrough, Yerry De los Santos went three scoreless innings, walking two. Tyler Matzek was then called in to finish things off, and he did so without much drama, giving the Yankees the game and series win.
The series in Sacramento may be over, but the Yankees’ West Coast trip isn’t yet. Starting tomorrow night, they’ll be in Seattle for a three-game set, kicking off at 9:40 pm ET. Clarke Schmidt is expected to get the ball for the Yankees in the opener against righty Emerson Hancock.
