When one of the best road teams in baseball, the New York Yankees, pay a visit to AL West’s Oakland Athletics, expect an intense, close series. The first game of this series made our MLB Free Picks of the Day, but if you’re more into a do-or-die series game, check out our preview of game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Read on for all the key details for this game and create a betting account to wager on the team you think will succeed.
[sc:MultiSportArticles ]New York Yankees vs. Oakland Athletics Series Preview
Where: O.co Coliseum, Oakland, California
When: June 13-15, 2014
Game 1 Line: New York Yankees (+155) at Oakland Athletics (-175); total 7.5 – view all MLB lines
Keys to the Series
The A’s are the best pitching team in MLB with a combined 2.83 ERA. Their pitching excellence starts with Scott Kazmir (7-2, 2.20 ERA) who takes the mound in the second game. Kazmir has limited Athletics’ opponents to just 2.1 runs per game in his last 10 starts.
[sc:MLB240banner ]The A’s have matched their quality pitching with hot hitting. Yoenis Cespedes, Josh Donaldson, and Brandon Moss have combined for 45 homers and 143 RBIs this season.
Cespedes in particular is on a nine-game hitting streak, and is a career .368 hitter against the Yankees.
The Yankees are coming off a sweep of the Seattle Mariners. The Yankees put on an offensive show, led by Derek Jeter and Jacoby Ellsbury. The two Yankees went a combined 11-for-23 with one homer, scoring seven runs in the series against the Mariners.
David Phelps, the Yankees starter for the first game of the series, has struggled this season (1-4, .488) but pitched well against Oakland earlier in this season allowing three hits and one earned run.
Second game starter Hiroki Kuroda has also pitched the A’s well, holding them to a .177 team average, with two home runs.
The Yankees are 17-10 in their last 27 road games.
Pitching Matchups
Game 1: NYY David Phelps (1-4, 4.88 ERA) vs. OAK Sonny Gray (6-2, 2.83 ERA)
Trends:
Yankees are 0-5 in Phelps’ last five road starts.
Total was over in four of Gray’s last six starts.
Game 2: NYY Hiroki Kuroda (4-4, 4.12 ERA) vs. OAK Scott Kazmir (7-2, 2.20 ERA)
Trends:
Kuroda’s team is 1-4 in last five career starts against Athletics.
A’s are 8-2 in Kazmir’s last 10 starts.
Game 3: NYY Vidal Nuno (1-2, 4.97 ERA) vs. OAK Jesse Chavez (5-4, 3.04 ERA)
Trends:
Yankees are 6-0 in Nuno’s last six road starts.
Over is 7-3 in Chavez’ last 10 starts.
Writer’s Prediction
Oakland’s superior pitching will limit the Yankee’s offense, while Donaldson, Moss, and Cespedes continue their hot batting. However, the Yankees are great on the road, and it’s not likely they’ll be swept. Oakland takes the series 2-1.
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