NEW YORK — The Yankees came into Thursday afternoon’s series finale against the Athletics holding an 8-3 record and first place in the American League East. By the time the final out was recorded, they had written one of the more embarrassing offensive chapters in recent franchise history.
The 1-0 defeat at Yankee Stadium was the Yankees’ first series loss of the 2026 season. It was also, by several measures, a performance that carried historical weight. And not the good kind.
New York managed just one hit. Ben Rice singled to right field with one out in the seventh inning to break up Jeffrey Springs‘ bid for a no-hitter. That single was the only time a Yankee reached base on a hit all afternoon.
A number that goes back 54 years
The defeat carried a stat line that no Yankees fan wanted to see attached to the 2026 club. According to research cited by Stathead’s Katie Sharp, it was the first time since 1958 that the Yankees lost a 1-0 game while recording one hit or fewer.
More specifically, the Athletics’ 1-0 win at Yankee Stadium was their first such result at the venue since July 14, 1972. It was also their first 1-0 win over the Yankees anywhere since 1979. The Athletics had not won a series at Yankee Stadium in 10 years before this week.
The Yankees have now produced just two hits combined over their last 17 innings. They have not scored a run since plating two in the first inning of Wednesday’s 3-2 loss. That scoreless streak reached across nearly two full games by the time Thursday’s contest ended.
Their record in one-run games fell to 0-4 on the season. Every single loss the Yankees have suffered in 2026 has come by exactly one run.
Springs was masterful; Weathers was nearly as good
Athletics left-hander Jeffrey Springs (2-0) dominated from the first pitch. He worked into the seventh inning without allowing a hit, mixing a low-90s fastball with an outstanding changeup that kept the Yankees off-balance all afternoon.
Springs finished with seven scoreless innings, allowing just that one hit while walking two and striking out six. He faced four baserunners total. Relievers Justin Sterner and Hogan Harris completed the one-hitter, with Harris earning his fifth career save on a perfect ninth inning.
“He had a good four-seam with a really good changeup,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “He stayed unpredictable with both [pitches]. He did a really good job of mixing his pitches… Obviously, he gave us some problems.”
The irony of the afternoon was that Ryan Weathers pitched exceptionally well. The Yankees left-hander threw eight innings, allowing just one run on seven hits while striking out seven and walking nobody. It was his best start as a Yankee, and he threw a career-high 101 pitches.
The one run Weathers allowed came in the seventh when Max Muncy led off with a triple to center field and scored on a Tyler Soderstrom single. That single run was all the A’s needed.
“We used our bullpen a lot. That’s the silver lining here, it kind of reset those [relievers] a little bit. We got a really strong outing from Ryan,” Boone said.
A lineup that went quiet at the wrong time
MLBAP Photo/Frank Franklin IIJASON SZENES/ NY POST
Lineup tweaks did nothing to shake the offense loose. Randal Grichuk went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts against the left-handed Springs. Amed Rosario went hitless at the top of the order, though he drew two walks. Aaron Judge went 0-for-4, including a weak groundout to end the eighth inning when he represented the potential go-ahead run.
Over the last two games of the series, the Yankees collected just five hits, scored two runs, and struck out 22 times. The two-run output Wednesday came entirely in the first inning against Luis Severino. After that, the offense vanished.
“Look, we got shut down today. We didn’t generate much. We didn’t hit a lot of balls on the screws at all and didn’t create much traffic,” Boone said. “We have a few guys struggling to get on track a little bit. Hopefully, we’ll get things going.”
Weathers credits his father, Boone points to weather
One of the few bright spots from the game came in Weathers’ postgame explanation. He credited a conversation with his father, former major league pitcher David Weathers, for resetting his approach after a rough start against the Marlins the previous Saturday.
"Just mentally trying to get in that flow state."
– Ryan Weathers on his pitching focus after throwing 8 innings of 1-run baseball pic.twitter.com/esXC5DHsxC
“He harps on me for strike throwing,” Weathers said about his dad. “In the last couple of outings, I haven’t used my brain. I’ve been raised in the game with him. I’ve been at this level long enough to know you have to pitch with your brain out there.”
“My mechanics were a little more fluid… I was working on being more fluid on the mound. It really helps when my mind is relaxed and I trust myself,” Weathers said.
Boone, for his part, pointed to the cold as a factor. During the six-game homestand, the temperature never reached 60 degrees. Against the Athletics, it barely hit 50. The manager is hopeful that heading to Tampa Bay for a three-game series against the Rays will help thaw some bats.
“That’s one of the challenges you have to deal with early in the season, at times,” Boone said. “Both sides had the same conditions. Hopefully, when we get down [to St. Petersburg], we’ll get a couple of guys going. Obviously, we are going to face good pitching when we play the Rays. Hopefully, we’ll get some guys rolling.”
The Yankees travel to Tropicana Field for their first AL East series of the season, beginning Friday. At 8-4 and still atop the division, the bigger picture remains fine. But the offense owes Weathers, and this ballclub, a better showing.
A digital technocrat-turned-baseball buff, Sara is an ardent follower of the New York Yankees. Born and brought up in New York City, she is a regular to games since she was a kid. Despite working as media strategist, baseball is her first love. She has been covering baseball games in the city as well as MLB and MiLB games involving the Yankees, the Mets, and their minor affiliates as a freelancer for different web and media publications. She works as a lead author for the Yankees-centered PinstripesNation since its very inception.
