"Derek Jeter already had reached base four times, including three more hits to boost his average this season to .295 while tying Rod Carew for 22nd place on baseball's all-time hit list with 3,053.

But with the tying runs aboard with none out and facing a two-run deficit in the ninth, Joe Girardi called for the Yankee captain to bunt, giving up an out against shaky Oakland closer Andrew Bailey. Jeter dropped down a perfect sacrifice, but the Yanks scored only once more in falling short, 6-5, to the A's at the Stadium.

"You want to give yourself a chance with our two big boys coming up," Girardi said, referring to Curtis Granderson, who walked to load the bases, and Mark Teixeira, who popped out for the second out. "We had two shots at it, ended up getting four shots at it, actually. It's not a tough decision."

Still, Jeter, whose double-play total has dropped from 22 last year to nine so far this season, is hitting .384 with 21 RBI in his last 28 games - and .351 since coming off the disabled list on July 4.

"That's how we play. We sacrifice from time to time," Girardi said. "You have one guy coming up with 98 RBI, another guy with 90-something, and another coming up in Robbie Cano. We just wanted some opportunities.""