Brett Lawrie hit a leadoff homer in the 10th inning against All-Star reliever Dellin Betances, sending the Oakland Athletics to a 4-3 victory over the New York Yankees on Tuesday night.
Billy Butler launched a tying shot off Chasen Shreve in the sixth, and Tyler Clippard whiffed slugger Mark Teixeira with two on for the final out as the A's improved to 1-6 in extra innings this year. They had been the only major league team without a win after the ninth.
Sonny Gray threw seven gritty innings for Oakland in his return from an illness that sent him to the hospital and forced him to skip a start.
One day after he was selected to his first All-Star team, the right-hander gave up two runs in the first but got stronger as the game wore on. He allowed three runs and six hits overall, lasting 110 pitches during his first career start at Yankee Stadium.
Gray began the day leading the AL with a 2.09 ERA.
Lawrie pulled an 0-2 breaking ball just inside the left-field foul pole for his eighth home run. Betances (5-2) snapped his head down and shouted into his glove after giving up home runs in consecutive outings for the first time in his career.
Filling in for injured closer Andrew Miller, the right-hander served up a tying drive in the ninth to Tampa Bay rookie Steven Souza Jr. on Saturday. Before that, Betances went 54 appearances without yielding a long ball.
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Prior to Lawrie's big swing, batters were 0 for 15 with 11 strikeouts on an 0-2 count against Betances this year.
Drew Pomeranz (3-3) pitched two perfect innings, and Clippard got three outs against former team to earn his 16th save in 18 attempts.
Gray made his first start since June 25, putting him on 11 days' rest. He was hospitalized for a couple of days last week due to gastroenteritis caused by a severe case of salmonella.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi had a quick hook for starter Nathan Eovaldi with a 3-2 lead and one out in the sixth. The move quickly backfired.
The left-handed Shreve struck out Josh Reddick, but the right-handed Butler homered to left field on the next pitch.
After that, New York relievers retired 10 straight batters before Lawrie connected.
Didi Gregorius gave the Yankees a 3-2 lead with a two-out RBI single in the fourth. Brian McCann scored after drawing a leadoff walk.
Reddick had a run-scoring single with two outs in the first. Gray gave up RBI singles in the bottom half to McCann and Garrett Jones.
Oakland tied it with three consecutive singles in the third, the last by All-Star catcher Stephen Vogt.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Athletics: LHP Sean Doolittle (strained shoulder) was set to play catch for the first time since going on the disabled list May 28 for the second time this season. He has appeared in one game all year and is eligible to come off the 60-day DL on July 27.
Yankees: The team plans to activate Miller and CF Jacoby Ellsbury from the disabled list Wednesday. Miller has been sidelined since June 10 with a strained left forearm, while Ellsbury has been out since May 20 with a sprained right knee.
UP NEXT
Athletics: LHP Scott Kazmir (5-5, 2.56 ERA) pitches Wednesday night in the middle game of the series. He is 3-1 with a 1.53 ERA in his past five starts, including eight shutout innings of two-hit ball last Thursday against Seattle.
Yankees: LHP CC Sabathia (3-8, 5.59) starts against his hometown team on eight days' rest. New York used a pair of off days on the schedule to push back Sabathia three days so he could work on some pitching problems between outings. The Bay Area native is 8-11 with a 4.75 ERA in 28 games against the A's.
