Yankees Go For Sweep
The Yankees have not swept a three-game series at home against Oakland since April 27-29, 2004.
After squandering multiple opportunities before being gifted a
victory, the New York Yankees may have to make the most of limited
chances Sunday when they face Justin Duchscherer in a bid to sweep a
three-game series from the Oakland Athletics.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global
have made New York -140 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for tonight’s game, the over/under has
been set at 8 total runs (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that
73% of bets for this game have been placed on New York -140 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
The Yankees (52-45)
stranded 21 baserunners and went 3-for-18 with men in scoring position
Saturday, but still eked out a 12-inning, 4-3 victory – their
season-best sixth straight home win – in 12 innings. Jose Molina was
hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, forcing home Derek Jeter with the
winning run.
"It feels good because we won the game, but it hurts,” Molina said.
By comparison, New York had gone 4-for-10 with runners in scoring position in Friday’s 7-1 win.
Duchscherer
(10-5, 1.82 ERA) has been pitching at a high level for nearly two
months, allowing two runs or fewer in 10 consecutive starts – compiling
a 7-2 record with a 1.44 ERA in that span. The right-hander, who
allowed one run in one inning during Tuesday’s All-Star game, failed to
get a decision last Sunday against the Los Angeles Angels despite
limiting them to two runs in 7 2-3 innings. Oakland lost the game 4-3.
Duchscherer
won his first-ever start against the Yankees on June 11, yielding one
run in seven innings of an 8-4 victory. He is 1-1 with a 4.20 ERA in
eight total appearances versus New York, spanning 15 innings.
Duchscherer,
who has been fighting a throat infection, has struggled against the
Yankees’ Jason Giambi, who is 5-for-7 with three homers and two doubles
for a 2.286 slugging percentage against him.
A better post
All-Star Game pitcher over his career, Andy Pettitte (10-7, 4.03) now
hopes to continue that pattern. The left-hander is 108-44 with a 3.53
ERA in the second halves of seasons, compared to a 103-76 mark and 4.12
ERA prior to the All-Star break.
Pettitte, who has dropped two of
his last three starts, was reached for four runs and eight hits in six
innings of a 4-1 defeat at Toronto last Sunday. He has won four of his
last five decisions at home, though. He also is 5-2 lifetime versus
Oakland (51-46) at Yankee Stadium.
Pettitte defeated the Athletics on June 12, holding them to one run in eight innings of New York’s 4-1 win.
Molina,
who entered Saturday’s game as a defensive replacement in the 10th
inning, likely will start at catcher for the Yankees after the
Athletics took advantage of Jorge Posada’s ailing shoulder to steal two
bases in the ninth inning. Posada has thrown out just 3 of 37
baserunners in 30 games while Molina has been successful cutting down
runners 24 of 51 times.
Oakland had its share of lost chances
Saturday, leaving 14 runners on base and going 2-for-13 with runners in
scoring position in losing its fourth straight.
"We played well. It was a great game,” A’s manager Bob Geren said. "We were right there. We just didn’t win.”
The Yankees have not swept a three-game series at home against Oakland since April 27-29, 2004.
Did
you like this article? Subscribe to our Baseball news feed for the fastest
updates delivered right to you – Click here to
Subscribe
