JP Sears shuts out former team as Athletics blank Yankees

JP Sears pitched 5 2/3 strong innings for his first win against his former team and the visiting Athletics earned a 7-0 victory over the New York Yankees on Saturday.
Brent Rooker hit a solo homer and rookie Nick Kurtz hit a three-run homer off New York’s Clarke Schmidt (4-4) as the A’s beat the Yankees for only the third time in their past 14 trips to New York.
Sears (6-7) allowed a single to Cody Bellinger in the first inning and a base hit to Paul Goldschmidt to open the sixth. Sears struck out three, walked three and got eight outs on fly balls.
Sears also retired Aaron Judge three times, getting the slugger on a double play in the first and fly balls in the third and sixth.
The left-hander earned the win after entering 0-4 with a 5.74 ERA in six career starts against the Yankees, who traded him to the A’s at the 2022 trade deadline in the deal for Frankie Montas.
Sears exited after Judge hit a 406-foot fly ball to deep center. Jack Perkins ended the sixth by getting Giancarlo Stanton out, pitching 3 1/3 innings for his first career save.
The A’s went ahead when Rooker drove a 1-2 cutter into the left field seats with one out in the fourth. It was Rooker’s second homer in his past 15 games.
Following walks to Lawrence Butler and Jacob Wilson, Schmidt retired Rooker. Kurtz followed Rooker’s strikeout by lifting a 1-2 cutter into the right field seats for his 12th homer, tying him with Miami Marlins catcher Agustin Ramirez for the most amongst rookies.
The A’s added their final runs in the seventh when Tyler Soderstrom lifted a bases-loaded sacrifice after Max Muncy reached on a bunt single in front of home plate. Austin Wynns added an RBI single and Muncy scored on the play due to a throwing error by Bellinger in center field.
Coming off seven hitless innings last Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles, Schmidt allowed four runs on four hits in six innings. Schmidt struck out seven and walked two and saw a 28 1/3-inning scoreless streak stopped when Rooker connected.
The Yankees lost for the 10th time in 15 games and were blanked for the sixth time this season.