Miller retires Judge to finish first 4-out save as Athletics beat Yankees 3-1 for 4-game split

Miller retires Judge to finish first 4-out save as Athletics beat Yankees 3-1 for 4-game split

NEW YORK (AP) — Mason Miller retired Aaron Judge with a runner on for his first four-out save, and the Oakland Athletics beat the New York Yankees 3-1 Thursday night for a four-game split.

Nick Allen and Tyler Nevin homered in the third inning off Nestor Cortes (1-2), and Alex Wood (1-2) escaped bases-loaded trouble in the first and fourth innings.

New York was 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position, stranded 11 runners and outhit Oakland 11-6.

Miller, a 25-year-old right-hander, relieved T.J. McFarland with a runner on first in the eighth and struck out Jose Trevino on a 101.3 mph fastball.

He got Oswaldo Cabrera to take a called third strike starting the ninth, allowed a hard-hit infield single to Anthony Volpe, then struck out Juan Soto on a 101.9 pitch. After striking out against Miller for the second time this week, Soto slammed his bat.

“To see somebody get on base in the ninth, it got a little loud so the adrenaline started pumping a little bit, but I quickly quieted it down with a strikeout,” Miller said.

Judge flied to right on a slider as Miller remained perfect in six save chances.

“Obviously it’s a pretty special fastball, but he’s got feel for his slider,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “So he’s not just 80, here it comes. He mixes it up. It’s100-plus miles an hour and it looks like that up close. They, obviously, look like they’ve got a good one at the back end.”

Miller needed 17 pitches to get the four outs, averaging 100.8 mph with eight fastballs. He struck out six of eight batters in the series and has fanned 23 in 11 1/3 innings this season.

“The kid is impressive but he’s got a good slider to go with it and he showed that tonight a couple of times,” Oakland manager Mark Kotsay said. “He’s really embraced this role. He loves it and you can see just the energy when he comes into the game.”

Miller pitched his eighth consecutive scoreless outing. He has retired 31 of 38 hitters in that span with 22 outs on strikeouts.

“He’s pretty good,” Trevino said.

Oakland scored three runs or fewer for the seventh straight game and 17th time this season. The A’s also homered for the 10th straight game.

Trevino homered off the screen attached to the right field foul pole in the second, one pitch after Gleyber Torres was picked off. The 325-foot drive was the shortest fence-clearing homer in the major leagues this season.

Allen, son-in-law of Boone’s older brother Bret, hit his first homer since Aug. 25 to tie the score in the third. Nevin, whose father Phil Boone’s bench coach from 2018-21, homered into the right field short porch.

Allen hit a tying homer about three rows back in the left field seats. It was the first homer since Aug. 25 for Allen — the son-in-law of Boone’s older brother Bret Boone.

Nevin, whose father Phil Nevin was the Yankees’ bench coach under Boone from 2018 to 2021, followed with a drive into the short porch in right for a 3-1 lead.

Wood allowed one run and eight hits, lowering his ERA from 7.89 to 6.59. Cortes allowed three runs and five hits in seven innings.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Athletics: 2B Zack Gelof (strained left oblique) was placed on the 10-day injured list retroactive to Tuesday. Kotsay said it was a low-grade strain that was caught early.

Yankees: RHP Gerrit Cole (right elbow) will not accompany the team on the seven-game trip and will continue his rehab in New York. … RHP Michael Tonkin was claimed off waivers from the Mets and RHP McKinley Moore was designated for assignment.

UP NEXT

Athletics: RHP Ross Stripling (0-5, 5.34 ERA) opposes RHP Corbin Burnes (3-0, 2.76) in the opener of a three-game series Friday in Baltimore.

Yankees: RHP Luis Gil (2.75), who earned his first win in 993 days Sunday, opposes RHP Colin Rea (2-0, 2.08) in the opener of a three-game series Friday in Milwaukee.

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More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/MLB

Larry Fleisher, The Associated Press