Yankees captain Aaron Judge nearly tied the game earlier in the fifth inning, but his 362-foot drive to right field was caught at the wall.
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The ball would have been a home run in 16 other Major League ballparks.
“He’s a really good player,” Weathers said of Judge.
Weathers expressed regret over his pitch selection against Kurtz in the seventh inning, which resulted in a two-run home run right after a mound visit from his manager.
“I could have spun him there, but hindsight’s 20-20.
If I’m looking at it, I probably should have thrown a different pitch or at least executed a little bit better,” Weathers said.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone defended his decision to keep the left-handed starter in the game to face the left-handed rookie hitter instead of turning to the bullpen.
“I don’t question leaving him in there for Kurtz,” Boone said.
The strategic choice ultimately cost the Yankees two additional insurance runs, but Boone remained pleased with how his club fought back.
“I’m going to take my left-on-left shot there with two outs.
After he got those first two and had thrown quite a few pitches to that point, that’s the one where maybe I go to Doval there,” Boone said.
New York stranded 10 runners on base throughout the game, minimizing the impact of their late surge.
“Love the finish,” Boone said. “Just couldn’t quite get over the hump there.”
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Right-handed pitcher Will Warren is scheduled to start the series finale for the Yankees against left-hander Jacob Lopez for the Athletics.
