MLB Baseball Matchup
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New York Yankees |
Oakland Athletics |
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| Teams |
|
|
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| New York Yankees |
8 |
8 |
8 |
| Oakland Athletics |
-130 |
-125 |
-130 |
Odds subject to change |
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 It may not seem like much for a team that has made 13 straight postseason appearances, but the New York Yankees know they need to get over the hump as far as moving two games over .500.
They have another chance to do so for the first time since April 23 when they continue a three-game road series against the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday.
New York (33-32) has been average through the first two-plus months of the season, posting 22 different .500 records. The Yankees haven't been higher than two games over the break-even point, a mark they have reached only once this year - when they were 12-10 on April 23 after beating the Chicago White Sox.
"It's good to be over .500, but we need to be over-over," manager Joe Girardi said. "We've had some opportunities the last couple weeks we couldn't take advantage of. We need to take advantage of those."
If they are going to get it done Wednesday, the Yankees will likely have to do it without closer Mariano Rivera, who improved to 17-for-17 in save chances with a scoreless ninth inning in Tuesday's 3-1 win. Rivera was summoned by Girardi and pitched for the fourth consecutive day after allowing go-ahead homers in two of his previous three appearances.
"If he calls me tomorrow, I'll tell him I'll be ready," said the 38-year-old Rivera, who has a 0.90 ERA. "I've been feeling really good."
The Yankees, who are 7-0 against AL West opponents, have a few key hitters going through minor slumps. Captain Derek Jeter went 0-for-4 on Tuesday and is 5-for-27 (.185) over his last seven games while Robinson Cano's woes continued as his 0-for-4 effort dropped his average to .195 on the road.
Oakland (34-30) has lost three of four after a four-game winning streak. Mark Ellis had three hits for the A's, who are having trouble replacing veteran bats Mike Sweeney and Frank Thomas - both on the disabled list.
New York starter Darrell Rasner (3-3, 2.58 ERA), meanwhile, looks to get back in the win column. Rasner went 3-0 with a 1.89 ERA in his first three outings before going 0-3 with a 3.26 ERA in last three.
The right-hander pitched a season-high eight innings, but was the hard-luck loser after allowing both runs in a 2-1 loss to Kansas City last Friday.
Rasner has made one previous start against Oakland, going 5 1-3 innings and yielding three unearned runs in New York's 13-inning, 4-3 win on April 14, 2007.
His opponent Wednesday will be Justin Duchscherer (5-4, 2.32), who looks to remain perfect at home. Duchscherer is 4-0 with a 1.69 ERA in four outings at McAfee Coliseum.
In his last start, Duchscherer won in Oakland on June 4 by allowing two runs in 6 2-3 innings in a 10-2 victory over Detroit. He was hit just above his left wrist by Carlos Guillen's line drive in the sixth inning, but expects to be fine for this start.
The right-hander has been very successful in his first full season as a starter, allowing more than two runs only twice in nine outings.
Duchscherer will make his first career start against New York. He has a 6.75 ERA against the Yankees in seven career relief appearances spanning eight innings.
Pick: Oakland Athletics
Result: Won
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