Jun. 29—Thirteen batters, eight runs and seven hits by the Yankees in the sixth inning at the Coliseum on Thursday afternoon sealed loss No. 62 of the season for the Oakland Athletics.

New York, which rode Domingo German’s perfect game to an 11-0 romp Wednesday night, rode that sixthinning outburst to a 10-4 waltz in front of 14,718 fans.

After the A’s scored a run in the first, Isiah Kiner-Falefa jolted a Hogan Harris fastball deep to center with two outs in the second. Esteury Ruiz raced to the wall, leapt and got his glove on the ball. Unfortunately for Ruiz and the A’s, the ball and his glove carried over the fence. Kiner-Falefa’s fifth homer of the year made it 1-1.

The A’s led 3-2 before the fateful sixth. Harrison Bader (3-for-4 with a walk) led off with a single. Josh Donaldson followed by launching a Harris changeup off the façade of the second deck, a shot estimated at 472 feet and understandably admired by Donaldson.

Harris said that changeup “was a hanger, unfortunately. Trying to get it down and away, but it did not work.”

Donaldson, the former A’s third baseman, has had an odd season. He missed 52 games because of hamstring and thumb injuries and is batting .143. The homer was his eighth of the season. He has 11 hits in 2023.

With a runner at first and one out, Lucas Erceg replaced Harris. Erceg, a Cal alum, had not allowed an earned run over his previous nine appearances (10 2/3 innings) and had stranded all 12 of his inherited runners this season.

Fair to say Thursday was not Erceg’s day. He faced six batters and retired none. He issued a walk, hit two batsmen and allowed three hits: a tworun single by Gleyber Torres, a two-run double by Giancarlo Stanton and an RBI single by Bader.

Erceg, whom the A’s acquired from Milwaukee in May, has been quite candid about his struggles with depression and alcohol. He says he has been sober for more than three years. So, he says one rough outing won’t alter his overall outlook.

“You’re just going to have to put things into perspective,” Erceg said, “and think, ‘Hey, I’m still pitching in the big leagues. I’m still going to keep an open mind to ... getting better every day and come to the field ready to improve on the little things.’

“Yeah, the numbers may say that it was a bad day, but I don’t think any day in the big leagues is a bad day. So, I’m just going to keep my head high and keep working.”

Kiner-Falefa’s RBI single off Ken Waldichuk capped the inning, which began with the A’s up by a run and ended with them down by seven.

Ruiz an All-Star? Ruiz’s grounder to third was the final out of German’s perfect game. On Sunday, Oakland’s rookie center fielder figures to be recognized for something much more encouraging: being named the A’s representative on the AL All-Star team.

The major-league leader in stolen bases with 40, Ruiz also is the A’s team leader in hits (82), doubles (18) and batting average (.260).

On Wednesday afternoon, through interpreter Sergio Almodovar, Ruiz said getting the call to join the AL team for the Midsummer Classic in Seattle on July 11 “would be an amazing opportunity. That would be a dream come true, really, playing with all those great players, but mentally that’s not really where I’m at right now.

“I just want to keep playing hard, and if God gives me the opportunity, then OK, good.”

A’s manager Mark Kotsay believes Ruiz’s ability to steal bases could make for an entertaining and effective option for AL manager Dusty Baker.

Ruiz would “add an exciting factor to that game, for sure,” Kotsay said. “He would provide an element that hasn’t been magnified in an All-Star Game. He could really do something special.”

The A’s acquired Ruiz from Milwaukee in the three-team December trade that sent catcher Sean Murphy to Atlanta.

Ruiz has been Oakland’s best hitter by far with runners in scoring position: He’s 29-for-73 (.397). Jace Peterson ranks second for Oakland in RISP hitting at 11-for-43 (.256).