Oakland Athletics vs. New York Yankees Predictions, Picks and MLB Preview – May 26, 2017

Oakland Athletics vs. New York Yankees Preview

Where: Yankee Stadium, Bronx

When: Friday, May 26, 2017, 7:05 PM ET

Line: Oakland Athletics (+155) vs. New York Yankees (-175); total: 9.0 – view all MLB lines

TV Broadcast: YES, NBCSCA

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Betting on the Oakland Athletics (21-25)

Moneyline: +155

The Oakland Athletics will head to Yankee Stadium with momentum on their side after beating the Miami Marlins, 4-1, in their series finale on Wednesday. Sonny Gray showed why he is the team’s ace, striking out a season-high 11 batters over seven innings. Looking to build on that strong start this coming Friday is right-hander Kendall Graveman (2-2, 3.83 ERA). Since returning from a strained right shoulder on April 27, Graveman is 0-2 with a 4.97 ERA. He has allowed a .289 opponents’ batting average in his last five outings.

That being said, Graveman will fancy his chances of turning his season around against the Yankees. In three career starts against the Bronx Bombers, he is 1-1 with a 3.06 ERA. For the A’s to grab the series opener, they will need to fix their defense and limit their errors. The A’s defense made three more errors in their latest win against the Marlins. They lead the majors with 46 errors this season.

What’s keeping Oakland afloat is its power hitting. They are among the major league leaders in homers with 68. Expected to lead the A’s offense for Friday’s showdown are Khris Davis and Jed Lowrie. Davis slugged his 14th homer in Wednesday’s win against Miami. He was 4-for-24 with 10 strikeouts last season against the Yankees and is batting just .171 this month. Lowrie, on the other hand, went 4-of-4 last Wednesday and is hitting 13-of-25 in his last six games.

The A’s are 2-8 in their last 10 road games.

Betting on the New York Yankees (27-17)

Moneyline: -175

Due to Thursday’s postponement, Masahiro Tanaka’s start has been pushed back to Friday against the Oakland Athletics. The Japanese ace has struggled mightily in his last two starts against the Astros and Rays, allowing a grand total of 14 earned runs and seven homers in just 4.2 innings of action. Since pitching a three-hitter against the Red Sox on April 27, Tanaka has racked up a 10.50 ERA in May and hitters are batting .395 against him. Tanaka’s slider and splitter have been inconsistent this season, leading some to speculate that the 28-year-old star is hurt.

General manager Brian Cashman insists that isn’t the case but Tanaka’s numbers this season are really worrisome. He’s enduring his worst stretch as a Yankee, posting a 6.56 ERA this campaign. Given Tanaka’s erratic form, the Yankees’ offense will need to stand tall against the A’s this coming Friday. One guy who needs to step up for New York is Didi Gregorius. He has been on fire at the plate of late, going 9-of-25 with two homers and five RBIs in his last seven games for the Bronx Bombers. Gregorius is certainly not giving up his job easily to highly-touted prospect Gleyber Torres who was just promoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre over the weekend.

The Yankees are 3-1 in their last four home games.

Writer’s Prediction

The Yankees (-175) ease past the A’s, 7-2.

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