A’s, Yankees Set To Begin Pivotal Four-Game Set At The Coliseum
Aug 25, 2021, 9:52 AM | Updated: 10:06 am
(Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images)
(Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images)
New York is 1-9 at the Coliseum since the beginning of the 2017 season
The Oakland Athletics will have some clarity regarding its postseason aspirations once the New York Yankees leave town on Sunday night.
After dropping two crucial games to the surging Seattle Mariners, the A’s will open up a very important four-game set against the red-hot Yankees on Thursday night at Oakland Coliseum.
New York currently holds a 4.5 game lead over Oakland in the standings for the American League’s top Wild Card spot.
While the A’s will have their hands full with New York over the weekend, Oakland has another team hot on its tail.
Seattle, who took both games in the Coliseum on Monday and Tuesday, have placed themselves right back into the thick of the Wild Card race, now trailing the A’s in the standings by just one game as of Wednesday morning.
With the Mariners facing the lowly Kansas City Royals and the Boston Red Sox, the team occupying the second Wild Card Spot, set to play a three games against the Cleveland Indians, Oakland could be in serious trouble if they don’t take care of business against New York.
Oakland enters play on Thursday having lost four games in-a-row and eight of their last ten contests. After rattling off a seven-game winning streak from August 4-12, the A’s have watched two-game lead over the top Wild Card spot evaporate into thin air while also losing ground in the race for the American League West.
The rivaled Houston Astros hold a 4.5 game lead over Oakland heading into Wednesday night’s action.
Things won’t get any easier for the A’s as they face a Yankees team that is currently on an 11-game winning streak, the franchise’s longest since 1985. With the recent additions of slugging outfielder Joey Gallo and versatile first baseman Anthony Rizzo having changed the trajectory of a one sluggish team, New York has seen their season come back to life in a big way.
On July 4th, New York fell to 41-41 on the season after splitting a double-header with the New York Mets.
Since then? The Yankees are 33-11 over the last 44 games and 18-3 over their previous 21 contests.
While they have had success as of late, the Yankees have struggled in Oakland over the years. New York holds a 1-9 record at the Coliseum dating back to the 2017 season.
In the most recent series at the Coliseum between the two teams, Oakland swept a three-game set in August of 2019, outscoring the Yankees 17-9 in the process.
Oakland will face the core of the Yankees rotation over the weekend, beginning with Jameson Taillon on Thursday night.
Taillon has found a groove in the second-half of the season, having posted a 5-0 record with a 2.01 ERA over his last nine starts. Countering Taillon will be James Kaprielian, a former Yankee farmhand that picked up a win at Yankee Stadium back on June 18th after striking out seven in as many innings.
Friday night will feature a marquee matchup as Cy Young candidate Gerrit Cole will take the mound against Sean Manaea, while Saturday’s game will feature southpaw Nestor Cortes Jr. against Oakland’s red-hot Frankie Montas.
Since June 26th, Montas has been the ace of the A’s pitching staff, posting a 2.54 ERA to go along with 74 strikeouts over 60 innings (10 starts).
Sunday’s finale will be a nationally televised game on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball, with lefty Jordan Montgomery matching up against righty Paul Blackburn.
Probable starting pitchers
- Thursday, August 26th – 6:40pm PST: Jameson Taillon (8-4, 3.94 ERA) vs James Kaprielian (7-4, 3.25 ERA)
- Friday, August 27th – 6:40pm PST: Gerrit Cole (12-6, 2.92 ERA) vs Sean Manaea (8-8, 3.77 ERA)
- Saturday, August 28th – 1:07pm PST: Nestor Cortes Jr. (2-1, 2.56 ERA) vs Frankie Montas (9-9, 3.84 ERA)
- Sunday, August 29th – 4:00pm PST: Jordan Montgomery (5-5, 3.69 ERA) vs Paul Blackburn (0-1, 4.09 ERA)
Who’s Hot?
- Luke Voit – DH – NYY – .500/.567/.962 with 3 HR, 13 RBI over his last nine games.
- Starling Marte – CF – OAK – .378/.406/.533 with 2 HR, 14 RBI and 16 SB over his last 21 games.
- Giancarlo Stanton – RF – NYY – .355/.459/.839 with 4 HR, 9 RBI over his last 10 games.
You can catch all four New York Yankees vs Oakland A’s games right here on Sports 1140 KHTK, with pregame coverage beginning one hour prior to first pitch.
