Game 68 Wrap-Up: OAK 10 NYY 5

(Kind surprised Nuno didn't give up a home run there.  Courtesy of the AP)

Well I hope everyone's Fathers Day was better than Vidal Nuno's.  What started as a winnable series to secure a very good road trip on Friday night quickly turned into more of what's become the new norm for this Yankee team over the last 2 days, and at no time was the gap between them and the true AL elite wider than today.  The A's bats woke up in a big way, not an uncommon happening against a junk baller like Nuno, and his streak of solid road starts came to an ugly and early ending.

Game Notes:

- A pair of leadoff singles put the A's in business in the bottom of the 1st.  A 3-run Derek Norris home run following a strikeout cashed in that business and put them on top 3-0.

- They cashed in on that single-single-home run formula again in the 2nd, this time after Nuno struck out Brandon Moss to start the inning.  Ahead in the count, he threw a bad slider and Coco Crisp crushed it to make it 6-0.

- 2 more baserunners to start the 4th and that was it for Nuno.  Jose Ramirez was called on to clean up the mess and instead he made things worse, giving up a walk, a hit batter, and 3 singles to the next 4 hitters.  When the dust settled, it was a 10-0 nothing game.

- The Yankee lineup decided to wake up after the game was already out of reach.  Mark Teixeira doubled a run home in the 6th, the only one they would get off Oakland starter Jesse Chavez, Carlos Beltran hit a solo HR to start the 7th, and Brett Gardner made things a little more respectable with a 2-run shot in the 9th.

- The bullpen regulars got a day of rest for the most part.  Shawn Kelley worked a scoreless 5th, Adam Warren tossed 2 scoreless, and Matt Thornton managed to complete a whole inning without turning it into batting practice.


F*ck Yeahs:

- Beltran: 2-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 LOB.  I guess that's a good sign.  He hadn't been swinging much of a bat since coming back.

Oh Nos:

- Nuno: 3 IP, 8 H, 8 ER, 1 BB, 2 K.  Awful.  Just awful.  He has one of these starts every second or third time out.  If the Yankees had another starter in Triple-A who was worth a damn, he'd probably be back in the bullpen.

Next Up:

The Yanks will get a much needed day off to travel back home and get their shit together tomorrow.  They start an important measuring stick test on Tuesday in a 3-game home series against the AL East-leading Blue Jays.