Seth Smith added a two-run single in the third inning and Coco Crisp collected three hits for the Athletics (48-44), who have won 11 of their last 13 games overall to move four games over .500 for the first time since May 31, 2010.
Robinson Cano extended his career-best hitting streak to 22 games with a single in the sixth inning. Former Athletic Nick Swisher belted a solo homer and had an RBI single for New York, which fell for just the third time in 12 outings.
Cespedes belted Oakland's 12th homer in six games when he went deep in the first inning. The Cuban extended his hitting streak to seven games after depositing a 69-mph curveball from Freddy Garcia (4-3) well into the seats in left field for his 12th homer of the season.
Griffin (2-0) pitched six innings for the fifth time in as many appearances this season. He allowed two runs on seven hits and struck out four.
A pair of relievers bridged the gap to Ryan Cook, who yielded his first career homer before recording his 10th save.
Garcia saw his two-game winning streak come to an emphatic end after yielding four runs on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings.
GAME NOTEBOOK: New York LF Brett Gardner will have arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow next week, likely ending his season. He has been sidelined since April 18 with the elbow strain. ... Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson rejoined the Yankees as their special adviser - a week after making critical comments on slugger Alex Rodriguez. Jackson was initially told to steer clear of the team after his comments to Sports Illustrated. ... Oakland is 36-24 with Cespedes in the lineup. He did not play in the series between the clubs in May.
NY Yankees | Oakland | |
Freddy Garcia | Player | A.J. Griffin |
Loss | W/L | Win |
5.2 | IP | 6.0 |
6 | Strikeouts | 4 |
9 | Hits | 7 |
6.35 | ERA | 3.00 |
NY Yankees | Oakland | |
Nick Swisher | Player | Coco Crisp |
2 | Hits | 3 |
2 | RBI | 0 |
1 | HR | 0 |
5 | TB | 3 |
.500 | Avg | .750 |
Team | Hits | HR | TB | Avg | LOB | K | RBI | BB | SB | Errors |
NY Yankees | 8 | 1 | 11 | .235 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Oakland | 9 | 1 | 13 | .273 | 18 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 |