Urshela takes shard in eye, then hits go-ahead homer

NEW YORK (AP) — Gio Urshela stayed in the game despite a shard of a broken bat hitting an eye and hit a go-ahead homer after the New York Yankees rallied from a three-run deficit in a 7-5 victory Saturday that stopped the Oakland Athletics’ seven-game winning streak.

Aroldis Chapman struck out Matt Chapman on a 103.4 mph pitch to strand two runners in the ninth. His final pitch was Chapman’s fastest on a strikeout since the 2017 AL wild card game and the fastest on a strikeout of any big league pitcher since Jordan Hicks of St. Louis reached 104.1 mph on April 21, 2019, according to MLB Statcast.

Urshela's bat splinted when he grounded into a double play in the second inning. His presence turned the game.

Urshela singled in New York’s first run in the fourth and put the Yankees ahead 5-4 in the eighth when he lifted a 98.6 mph fastball from Jesús Luzardo (2-4) into the netting above Monument Park in center. DJ LeMahieu added a two-run single against Sergio Romo.

Oakland had built a 4-1 lead off Domingo Germán on solo homers by Tony Kemp and Matt Chapman, and Matt Olson's two-run single in the fifth.

Chris Bassitt had New York largely in check. The first sign he lost composure was in the fifth, when he allowed Clint Frazier's leadoff double and slammed his glove into the bench several times at the end of the inning.

Gary Sánchez homered in the sixth, his 11th this season and fifth in nine games, and New York tied it 4-4 in the seventh against Burch Smith when Frazier doubled again, and Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton hit RBI singles.

Nestor Cortes Jr. escaped a first-and-third, no-outs jam in the fifth and pitched three innings of one-hit relief.

Chad Green (2-4) struck out the side in the eighth, and Aroldis Chapman gave up an RBI single to Ramón Laureano before...

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