Yankees Comeback Against Athletics

Mark Leiter Jr. had shown his pitching talents repeatedly during his time with the Yankees, but on Tuesday night, the team finally capitalized on his mistakes.

After struggling for much of the game, the Yankees found their rhythm in the bottom of the eighth inning. Amed Rosario, starting in place of Ryan McMahon, delivered a powerful three-run homer—his second of the night—against Leiter, leading the Yankees to a 5-3 comeback win over the Athletics in chilly Yankee Stadium.

Prior to that moment, the Yankees had managed only four hits and were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. However, they kicked off the inning with three straight hits: Cody Bellinger singled to center, Ben Rice struck a broken single into the right field seats, and Giancarlo Stanton added another single, narrowing the deficit to just two runs.

With one out left, Rosario crushed a 414-foot blast, celebrating by dropping his bat and hitting his chest as the ball soared into the night sky.

David Bednar closed the game with four scoreless innings in relief of Cam Schlitler, who had conceded his first run of the season. Schlitler had an impressive five-inning outing, allowing three runs while striking out seven batters, setting the stage for Bednar to secure the win in the final inning.

Meanwhile, the Athletics had taken an early lead. They surpassed the Yankees’ total hits by the third inning, establishing a 3-1 advantage. The scoring began with Max Muncy’s infield hit and continued with Jeff McNeil’s single and a successful sacrifice bunt by Denzel Clark that advanced the runners. Nick Kurtz, last year’s AL Rookie of the Year, hit a double to deepen the gap, followed by another double from Tyler Soderstrom, which pushed the lead to 3-1.

Earlier in the game, Rosario had put the Yankees on the board first, smashing his first pitch for a 399-foot home run into left field, giving them a quick 1-0 lead.