The Yankees start the series atop the AL East with the best record in baseball (50-31), while Oakland resides in third place in the West with a 41-42 record.
Head to Head:
The Yankees beat the A’s twice in their three-game set last time, but that wasn’t the real story. Alex Rodriguez and Dallas Braden exchanged words after A-Rod ran across “Braden’s mound.” Braden went on to throw a perfect game a few starts later and the rest is history. Now, there are even t-shirts for sale.
Braden is unfortunately on the DL and will not be pitching in this series. There’s still hope for a rematch, however, as these two teams meet again in late August.
Pitching Matchups:
| Date: | Yankees starters | Athletics starters |
| Mon., 10:05 p.m. | J. Vazquez (6-7, 5.11) | Ben Sheets (3-7, 4.98) |
| Tues., 10:05 p.m. | CC Sabathia (10-3, 3.33) | Trevor Cahill (8-2, 2.74) |
| Wed., 10:05 p.m. | A.J. Burnett (6-7, 4.90) | Gio Gonzalez (7-5, 3.50) |
Players to Watch:
Yankees: Rodriguez. He’s clearly not liked by this team thanks to Braden’s mouth. And I’m willing to bet no teams are very fond of him since he took a spot on the All-Star roster undeservingly.
Athletics: Daric Barton. Who? He is the A’s best hitter, hitting to the tune of .289/.396/.409. However, Kurt Suzuki carries the team’s pop. Watch out for both.
Prediction:
I’ve been right the past two weeks, so I’ll hope to keep my streak alive down the stretch. I say the Yankees have it set up for a sweep this series. Vazquez will lower his ERA below 5.00 with a decent start tonight and Nos. 1-2 will take care of business.
