Bartolo Colon
BIG TROUBLE: CC Sabathia was no match for his rotund counterpart Bartolo Colon (left), who limited the Yankees to no runs through six innings in last night’s 6-4 A’s victory in Oakland. (Reuters; EPA)
OAKLAND, Calif. — The Yankees returned to the varsity portion of the schedule last night and watched their ace get spanked by the A’s.
After taking three of four from the lowly Mariners in Seattle, the Yankees pulled into the Coliseum having won six of seven and Sabathia riding a two-game winning streak that included a complete-game victory in the last start.
Thanks to two mistakes the A’s swatted for homers that produced four runs Sabathia put the Yankees in a ditch too deep to climb out of.
“I felt like I didn’t have good stuff,’’ said Sabathia, who gave up a leadoff homer to Coco Crisp in the first and a three-run homer to Derek Norris in the third on a first-pitch curveball. “I felt like everything was flat and had no life on the fastball.’’
Five runs in four innings — one of which was produced by a bad play in right field by Lyle Overbay — was more than enough for A’s starter Bartolo Colon to hurl the hosts to a 6-4 win that was witnessed by 27,118 at the East Bay dump known as the Coliseum.
The Yankees remained in second place, two lengths back of the AL East-leading Red Sox.
After working out of a one-out, bases loaded jam in the first without giving up a run, the 40-year-old Colon with a body that looks like a badly stuffed duffel bag, breezed through a limp Yankees’ order.
In six shutout innings Colon, who hit 95 mph with the fastball to strike out Travis Hafner in the third, allowed three hits and won for the fourth straight time to hike the record to 8-2.
Sabathia, who wild-pitched the A’s sixth run home in the sixth, fell to 6-5. In six innings he gave up six runs and eight hits.
“I tried to battle and keep us in the game,’’ Sabathia said. “These guys are grinding at-bats and it’s up to me to battle and keep us in the game.’’
The Yankees scored two runs in the eighth when Mark Teixeira and pinch-hitter Vernon Wells delivered RBI singles and two more in the ninth when Teixeira doubled home two. And it gave the Yankees a chance to tie the score against closer Grant Balfour.
Batting with Teixeira on first, two outs and trailing, 6-4, Hafner chased left fielder Sam Smith to the wall in left for the final out.
“I thought it had a chance to go off the wall,’’ Girardi said of Hafner’s opposite-field drive.
Earlier in the game, Sabathia foolishly attempted to grab Nate Freiman’s chopper up the middle in the sixth inning with his pitching hand. The ball glanced off the fingers to Cano and he turned it into an out.
Pitching coach Larry Rothschild and trainer Mark Littlefield briefly visited Sabathia on the mound and returned to the dugout.
Afterward Sabathia said there was no problem.
Making his fourth major league start in right field Overbay experienced his first bad game in his new position.
In addition to turning Norris’ two-out pop to short right into a two-run double in the second by not getting to hit then fumbling it on the ground, Overbay went 0-for-3, stranded three runners to end the first and hit into a double play.
“If I had to do it over again, I’d make sure where he was playing,’’ Overbay said of Cano, who ran in front of Overbay chasing the ball. “He was playing up the middle, so I should’ve known he wasn’t going to have a chance to get it.’’
Because Sabathia looked good in the previous two games last night didn’t sit well with him.
“It’s disappointing. After two good games and not having it, ‘’Sabathia said. “But I will be ready to go in five days.’’