Athletics at Yankees
The New York Yankees overcame a rough start to their just-concluded road trip by winning four in a row to finish 5-4 on the nine-game trek. While they are running away with the American League East, the Yankees get a chance for a bit of payback when they kick off a six-game homestand with the first of three versus the Oakland Athletics on Friday night.
New York absorbed a three-game sweep in Oakland last week, getting outscored 17-9, but the Yankees rebounded by winning five of the next six capped by a sweep in Seattle. "They're very resilient and they're very hungry and ... I've never had reason to be considered with these guys and what they are going to bring for the next day, for the next series," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after watching his team belt 18 homers -- five by Aaron Judge -- over the last six games. Oakland is holding down the second wild card -- 1 1/2 games behind Cleveland and one ahead of Tampa Bay -- after taking three of four in Kansas City to open its seven-game road trip. "We're not scoreboard checking or anything like that, but you take three of four, you'll do all right in the long run," said right-hander Liam Hendriks, who has a major league-high 17 saves since taking over as the closer on June 22.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, MLB Network, NBCS California (Oakland), YES (New York)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Athletics RH Brett Anderson (10-9, 4.08 ERA) vs. Yankees LH CC Sabathia (5-8, 4.99)
Despite registering his eighth quality start in the last 10 outings, Anderson had to settle for a no-decision versus San Francisco on Sunday after allowing three runs and six hits over six innings. The 31-year-old has won only once in his last eight turns and now will try to finally solve the Yankees, having posted an 0-6 record and 6.86 ERA in eight starts against New York. DJ LeMahieu is 5-for-13 against Anderson, who has fared well on the road this season with a 6-3 mark and 3.42 ERA.
Sabathia ended the first half with three straight quality starts but he has labored since the All-Star break, losing his fourth consecutive start by allowing two runs and five hits over four innings at the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday. The 39-year-old has surrendered 10 home runs in five starts since the break and has failed to pitch beyond 4 1/3 innings in each of his last four turns. Josh Phegley is 5-for-11 off Sabathia, who is 11-12 with a 4.66 ERA in 32 starts versus Oakland.
WALK-OFFS
1. Athletics SS Marcus Semien is 8-for-20 with two homers and 10 RBIs in his last four games.
2. Judge has hit safely in seven straight while LeMahieu is 8-for-17 with four straight multiple-hit games.
3. Athletics rookie LF Seth Brown is 7-for-19 with four RBIs in his first four major league games.