NEW YORK -- The last time Stephen Piscotty played here at Yankee Stadium, it was in the 2018 American League Wild Card Game. He remembers how it felt.

"I remember that game vividly," Piscotty said. "Any time you're in that kind of environment, it sticks with you."

In that game, Piscotty and the 97-win A's battled the 100-win Yankees. But a lot changes in four years, and the 2022 A's team that played on Wednesday afternoon in a much less raucous Yankee Stadium -- with 39,647 fans in the stands instead of 49,620 -- is a lot different from the one that took the field on Oct. 3, 2018. 

As Oakland was swept by a Yankees team that might be even better than the 2018 version -- the A's dropped the series finale, 5-3 -- Piscotty and Ramón Laureano were the only two A's in the lineup who also played in that Wild Card Game. 

That lineup featured Matt Olson (29 home runs, 117 OPS+) at first base, Matt Chapman (24 home runs, 137 OPS+) at third base and Khris Davis (48 home runs, 137 OPS+) at designated hitter. In those spots on Wednesday were Seth Brown at first -- the A's best hitter this season, with 10 homers and a 113 OPS+, but who also didn't start the first two games of the series because of lefty-lefty matchups -- Sheldon Neuse at third (two homers, 75 OPS+) and Elvis Andrus at DH (three homers, 85 OPS+).

The A's played three tight games in this series, staying close in each with the best team in baseball, a team whose record (56-20) is nearly a mirror image of theirs (25-52). But they didn't quite have the firepower to win. The Yankees did.

"They showed us why they're the best team in baseball right now," manager Mark Kotsay said. "This is a good team, but we were in every game, we had a chance to beat them, and that's why we play the game."

The A's led 5-1 in the series opener; the Yankees slugged their way back to win, 9-5. In Game 2 the A's got a strong outing from Frankie Montas and almost rallied from two runs down in the ninth inning against arguably the best reliever in baseball this season, Clay Holmes. But with the potential tying and go-ahead runs on base, Tony Kemp grounded out softly to end the game.

And in Wednesday's series finale, the A's jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first behind Piscotty's two-run double off Jameson Taillon, his first hit since May 6 as he returned from the injured list. But the Yankees' biggest bats answered -- Aaron Judge crushed a two-run homer off Cole Irvin in the bottom of the first and Giancarlo Stanton added a three-run homer two innings later, and Oakland couldn't come back, even though Irvin settled down to pitch seven innings.

The A's actually out-hit the Yankees in the finale, 9-6, including multi-hit games from Piscotty and Laureano. But after the first inning, they struggled to bring runners home. Oakland went 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base.

It's tough to miss those opportunities against a team like the Yankees, and at the end of this series, the A's are 5-20 in June and have been swept eight times this season.

"We're remaining competitive up until the last pitch," Piscotty said. "Obviously, you want to win the ballgames, but it's something you can hang your hat on. This team fights. We always have, and we'll continue to."