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Rogers' ROUND TRIPPER >> RIDICULOUS 58-29-2 Last 20 Days!
(MLB) Oakland vs. NY Yankees,
Money Line: -165.00 NY Yankees (Home)
Result: Loss
Money Line: -165.00 NY Yankees (Home)
Result: Loss
The set-up: The 27-17 Yankees had their scheduled series finale at home against Kansas City postponed due to rain on Thursday and will welcome the Oakland Athletics to the Bronx for a three-game series beginning tonight. The Yanks snapped a three-game losing streak Sunday at Tampa Bay (3-2) and open the series having won three of four, despite scoring a modest 12 runs in that four-game stretch. New York's pitching staff has been the key, allowing two or fewer runs in the team's three wins. The Oakland pitching staff has been nowhere near as sharp, allowing 23 runs in back-to-back setbacks (Sunday & Tuesday), before ace Sonny Gray led them to a 4-1 win over the Marlins on Wednesday. That enabled the team to cap a six-game homestand at 4-2 and the 21-25 A's now begin a seven-game road trip (Indians are up next).
The pitching matchup: Kendall Graveman (2-2 & 3.83 ERA) gets the call for Oakland and Masahiro Tanaka (5-3 & 6.56 ERA) for New York. Graveman is trying to snap a string of six consecutive winless starts, despite some solid pitching. For the season, he has allowed two ERs or less in six of his eight starts but he has just two wins and the A's are 4-4 in all eight outings. Graveman is 1-1 with a 3.06 ERA in three career starts against New York (A's are 2-1) and earned the win in his lone appearance at Yankee Stadium. Tanaka lasted only three innings at Tampa Bay on Saturday, permitting six runs on nine hits, including three HRs. That followed a awful outing at home versus Houston, when he was pounded for a career-worst eight runs and surrendered four HRs in only 1 2/3 innings. However, Tanaka had won five consecutive starts prior to these last two. He was scheduled to pitch yesterday's rain out, so maybe an extra day of rest will help (it certainly can't hurt).
The pick: The Yankees are hoping an unscheduled day off won't snap the momentum the team gathered by winning three of its last four games and that Tanaka can bounce back from two ugly outings. It bodes well that he's 3 -0 with a 1.31 ERA in three career starts against the Athletics. It also bodes well that the Yanks are 15-7 at home (where they are averaging 6.00 RPG) and that the A's are just 6-15 on the road, where they are allowing 5.14 RPG. Make the Yankees an 8* play.
The pitching matchup: Kendall Graveman (2-2 & 3.83 ERA) gets the call for Oakland and Masahiro Tanaka (5-3 & 6.56 ERA) for New York. Graveman is trying to snap a string of six consecutive winless starts, despite some solid pitching. For the season, he has allowed two ERs or less in six of his eight starts but he has just two wins and the A's are 4-4 in all eight outings. Graveman is 1-1 with a 3.06 ERA in three career starts against New York (A's are 2-1) and earned the win in his lone appearance at Yankee Stadium. Tanaka lasted only three innings at Tampa Bay on Saturday, permitting six runs on nine hits, including three HRs. That followed a awful outing at home versus Houston, when he was pounded for a career-worst eight runs and surrendered four HRs in only 1 2/3 innings. However, Tanaka had won five consecutive starts prior to these last two. He was scheduled to pitch yesterday's rain out, so maybe an extra day of rest will help (it certainly can't hurt).
The pick: The Yankees are hoping an unscheduled day off won't snap the momentum the team gathered by winning three of its last four games and that Tanaka can bounce back from two ugly outings. It bodes well that he's 3 -0 with a 1.31 ERA in three career starts against the Athletics. It also bodes well that the Yanks are 15-7 at home (where they are averaging 6.00 RPG) and that the A's are just 6-15 on the road, where they are allowing 5.14 RPG. Make the Yankees an 8* play.
