Yankees Get 22 Hits, Flatten Athletics

For four innings, the Yankees’ offense was flat. By the end of the game, it had flattened Oakland.

“I was a little worried early on when we hit into three double plays. I was saying, ‘Uh, oh, I don’t like the looks of this thing,’ ” Yankee Manager Joe Torre said.

By the time the afternoon was over, New York had totaled up its most hits in 11 years. Tino Martinez hit his 41st homer and the Yankees got 22 hits Tuesday in an 18-2 rout of the Athletics at Oakland.

“I always get concerned coming out after an off day. You want to kind of guard against any flatness,” Torre said. “We sure eliminated that problem.”

Joe Girardi and Rey Sanchez had four hits each, and Martinez, Bernie Williams and Tim Raines had three apiece. Martinez, who finished a triple shy of the cycle, raised his major league-leading RBI total to 124.

“I think it becomes a domino effect,” Raines said. “We were getting walks. We were getting big hits in key situations and they made a big error early in the game and we kind of fed off that. If we didn’t hit into those double plays, it maybe could have been worse. But that’s baseball. Everyone came out today and swung the bat well.”

New York got the most hits off Oakland in 19 years. The Yankees sent 13 batters to the plate in an eight-run fifth, then batted nine in a six-run seventh that included a three-run homer by Martinez.

The Yankees had their highest hit total since getting 22 in an 18-9 loss to Baltimore on June 8, 1986. It was their most runs since beating Milwaukee, 19-2, in a doubleheader opener last Sept. 25, the game that clinched their first division title since 1981.

The 22 hits were the most against Oakland since it gave up a club-record 23 against Minnesota on July 18, 1978. The 18 runs were the most against the A’s since an 18-5 loss to Baltimore on Aug. 15, 1996.

“It was terrible,” Manager Art Howe said. “They’ve got a quality team and you need big league pitching to beat them.”

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NEXT SERIES FOR DODGERS

WHO: Oakland Athletics

WHERE: at Dodger Stadium

WHEN:

Thursday: 7 p.m.

Friday: 7 p.m.