Yankees Open Series with A’s Leading the AL East
The American League East is separated by just six games from top to bottom. The New York Yankees are currently leading the division by 1 ½ games over the Baltimore Orioles. Tampa Bay is 2 games back, while Toronto is 2 ½ games behind and the Boston Red Sox 6 games.
On Tuesday night, the division leading Yankees will host the Oakland Athletics. New York on the season is 44-38 overall and 23-15 at home. Oakland is 38-47 on the season and 20-21 on the road. Both teams come into this first game of a three-game series off losses.
The moneyline has Oakland slightly favored at -118 with New York at +108. The over/under run total is 8.
The first matchup the Yankees had with the A’s this season did not go very well. Sonny Gray had a great start in the series in May that helped Oakland win three of the four games they played head to head. On Tuesday, Gray will look for a repeat performance when he goes to the mound for the A’s. However, he might not be that strong after just recovering from a severe bout of salmonella poisoning.
On the season, Gray is one of the few bright spots on the Oakland roster. Gray is 9-3 with an ERA of 2.09. This will be his first start at Yankee Stadium since he beat the Yankees 6-2 May 29. The right-hander for Oakland is amongst the leaders in the AL in ERA. In his 9 starts on the road this season, Gray is 6-1 with an ERA of 1.88.
Last Monday through Wednesday, Gray was hospitalized and held back one start until Tuesday.
The Yankees arrived in Oakland last May at the top of the AL East, while the A’s were in the AL West cellar. Those same positions exist today.
In New York’s last outing, its winning streak of three games was broken by Tampa Bay 8-1. The Yankees had shaky pitching, a lack of hitting and committed three errors on the day allowing three unearned runs.
The Yankees offensive production has dropped of late with just three runs or fewer scored in six of its past seven games played.
However, with Nathan Eovaldi on the mound the Yankees might not need too much offensive production. Eovaldi is 8-2 with an ERA of 4.52. He is victorious in three straight starts, while allowing three runs or less in 7 of his past 8 starts.
Last Wednesday he beat the Los Angeles Angels 3-1 allowing five hits over 5 1/3 innings.
I like a low scoring pitcher’s duel with the Yankees winning 3-1.
