Yankees trying avoid four-game sweep in Oakland

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The Athletics dismantled much of their team this offseason, yet they?ve remained in the playoff hunt because of a few surprises and a few impressive additions. As the Yankees try to avoid a four-game series sweep this afternoon, two things have stood out this weekend.

This team can really pitch

We?re past the All-Star break, so it?s hard to call this a fluke at this point. The A?s have the lowest ERA in the American League, and they have it despite four rookies in their starting rotation. The Yankees have seen A.J. Griffin, Tommy Milone and Jarrod Parker the past three nights, and all three shutdown this offense.

?I would say they?ve been throwing strikes,? Robinson Cano said. ?Especially the guy from (Friday) night, (Milone). They?re throwing their pitches whenever they want. They?re throwing a lot of strikes. Like I say, you have to give them credit.?

In today?s finale, the Yankees won?t be facing a rookie. They?ll be facing Bartolo Colon, who has a 3.88 ERA while continuing some of the things he did so well last season. The Yankees haven?t had any success against the young A?s starters. Maybe they?ll have some success against the familiar veteran.

?Bart?s another one of those guys, he?s not going to walk people,? Joe Girardi said. ?He?s coming right at you. Here it is, I?m going to throw it, I?m going to locate it down and away and inside with movement. If you do something with it, do something with it.?

Yoenis Cespedes can really hit

He burst onto the scene this winter with a YouTube video and a ton of prospect hype. International free agents rarely become household names before they reach the big leagues, but Cespedes became an exception to the rule. The Athletics decided to take the risk with a big contract for a largely unknown player, and it?s paying off.

?You just hope nobody?s on base when you have to go through his at-bat,? Phil Hughes said. ?Fortunately there wasn?t any guys on when he hit the first one (last night). From there, we just tried to go in to him. He?s patient for a guy that swings so hard. You normally expand the zone a little bit, but he hasn?t been. He?s impressive.?

During a current nine-game hitting streak, Cespedes has hit .576 with four home runs and 10 RBI.

?He?s strong. He hits the ball hard, squares it up on a consistent basis,? Girardi said. ?We?re running into a hot hitter right now.?
 
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Pregame notes: ?We?re just not coming up with any runs?


Three days ago, the Yankees were flying high on their way to the West Coast. They?d won five of six since the All-Star break, had just swept the Blue Jays and had the best record in baseball since June 2. They were beginning to run away with the American League East and might have felt like the hottest team in baseball.

But they?ve since run into the actual hottest team in baseball, and the result has been three straight one-run losses here in Oakland.

?It?s disappointing,? Mark Teixeira said. ?You got to give them credit. We?ve been scoring a lot of runs (lately), so you?re almost due for a couple days where you?re not scoring. Doesn?t make it any easier. ? Our pitchers are doing a great job, but we?re just not coming up with any runs for them.?

The A?s are 7-1 since the All-Star break, 12-2 in the month of July and they?re staying afloat in the American League West because a largely anonymous pitching staff is leading the American League in ERA. The Yankees might have the best record in baseball since June 2, but the A?s are only a half game behind them in that span.

Following the lead of A.J. Griffin and Tommy Milone, Jarrod Parker was outstanding tonight. He scattered five hits ? all of them singles ? through eight innings. Phil Hughes only made two mistakes tonight, and those home runs were the difference in the game because Parker let the Yankees manufacture just one run. They scored three runs on Thursday, two on Friday and just one tonight.

?There are some talented kids over there and they?re throwing the ball well,? Joe Girardi said. ?Any time you get good pitching, you have a chance to win. You don?t have to score a lot of runs when you get good pitching.?

Hughes didn?t give up many runs, but the home runs to Yoenis Cespedes and Brandon Inge were enough. Hughes allowed just two other hits tonight, but he was saddled with his eighth loss of the season while pitching through the seventh inning for the fourth time in his past five starts.

?Here we have the luxury, when you do pitch like that, we normally win,? Hughes said. ?Just didn?t work out tonight.?

? Nick Swisher?s MRI showed exactly what the Yankees expected. He has a strain and will be reevaluated on Monday, which will be the earliest he?ll play again. ?Puts your mind at ease,? Swisher said.

? Hughes looked good tonight. He hadn?t started a game in this stadium since 2010 when he allowed one hit and struck out 10 through 7.1 stellar innings. He wasn?t quite as good this time, but he certainly deserved a better result. ?I thought he threw the ball really well,? Girardi said. ?He gave up the two solo shots, and usually that?s not going to beat you over the course of a game. We?ve had a tough time scoring some runs out here. He pitched a great game.?

? Between the Cespedes home run and the Inge home run, Hughes allowed no hits and walked two, one of which was erased with a double play. Girardi said he would have brought Dave Robertson in to pitch the eighth had the Yankees taken a lead, but with the game tied, he liked the way Hughes was pitching. Hughes stayed in and gave up the Inge game-winner. ?He was still throwing the ball good,? Girardi said.

? Hughes on the Inge homer: ?Everybody says you get the ball down, but I kind of like the ball to ride up on him a little more. That one was down. He likes the ball down, and in the past I?ve gotten him out a lot kind of in the belly button region. I don?t want to say it was too far down, but it kind of was. That?s the way it goes.?

? Hughes on the Cespedes homer: ?(Trying to go) away. That ball leaked over the plate, and he can really hit. Trying to be careful with him, and anything over the plate, he puts a good swing on. He?s a good player.?

? Hard not to notice that Hughes was having some success with his changeup tonight. ?There?s some guys in that lineup that the opportunity presented itself to throw some more changeups,? he said. ?I got some big outs with it. It was good. I thought I commanded the ball pretty well tonight. Just two mistakes.?

? Also hard not to notice that Hughes thought the Inge homer was a popup. He pointed to the sky as if giving someone a heads up on where the ball was, then he turned to watch it leave the park. ?I thought he just hit it really good and really high, to be honest,? Hughes said. ?Looking back on the replay it?s kind of silly because he hit it pretty good. I had no second thoughts about going about that at-bat any other way. I was just trying to get him out with fastballs. I?ve done it before. Sometimes it just doesn?t work out.?

? Parker has a big fastball and a good changeup. He?s a more powerful pitcher than the guys who shutdown the Yankees the previous two nights. ?Kept the ball down, kept you off balance just enough with that changeup for lefties,? Teixeira said. ?Could get up to 95 when he wanted to, and then if he needed a groundball, he?d throw that 92 mph sinker. That?s really good stuff.?

? Robinson Cano?s hitting streak ended at 24 games. He said it was never one his mind. ?Honestly, no,? he said. ?I just go out there and try to get a hit every at-bat. I don?t put it in my mind that I?ve got a hitting streak or something like that. But I go out there and try to get on base.?

? Cano was one game away from tying Derek Jeter?s 2006 hitting streak. Cano?s streak was the longest for a Yankee since Jeter?s.

? Final word comes from Girardi, who said he doesn?t fault the Yankees offensive approach during these past three games. ?I?m satisfied (with the approach),? he said. ?In the first six innings, there wasn?t a lot of offense. I think that had a little bit to do with the shadows, too, today. It?s tough when those shadows are like that in the beginning. I?m not taking anything away from Parker, but as you saw, there weren?t a lot of hits. I?m satisfied. Look at the first inning; if that ball goes over Weeks? head, we?ve got a run right away and probably a guy at second with one out. He makes a great play. You move on.?
 
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The last time the A's swept a 4-game series from the Yankees?

1972.
 
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azbob

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The Yankees very well could win today but, how can you make a case for putting money on them at -120 let alone -180.

They are not hitting which means you are backing them in a close game late when CC may or may not be around to finish. They just lost two close games late.

Colon's ERA in his last three is 2.5 (I know CC is 1.3) but, I also give Colon some value for being able to handle the situation as this is like a playoff for the A's as they don't have much else to play for.

The best value bet in this game may be the under as I see it at 1/2-0 with Oak winning. The Yankees may hit a homer or two and if there is anyone on base that may be enough but, that is alot of things that have to come together to cash a ticket at -180.
 
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The a's don't have much else to play for? They are tied for the wild card lead..

A's fan, but I think there's a reason the line is -180..colon throws a lot of strikes, but think the yanks can do some damage off his fastball today (which he throws like 85% of the time)

Hope I'm wrong!
 
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I'm all over NY today here.....AGAIN!!! If A's sweep a 4 game set congrats to them and I'll swallow the loss. I just don't see it happening......Fartolo's not gonna win here! 0 wins last 4 decisions....
 
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azbob

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You are very right Thomas as I was going to write to make note of their current position and the fact that they are playing so well.

I wanted to tighten up my post so I didn't go into that. I think, realistically, they are playing this year to build to contend in the future...nothing wrong with that but, I don't think their games will be meaningful in Sept and that is what I meant.

I admire the A's.
 
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i played oakland +176 rather large, good luck with whatever you play.
 
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what are the shadows like in san diego early ?

only thing stopping me from playing

over 3? -115
 
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azbob

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With you on Oakland and I made that wager stronger than the under although I have both.

Good luck to all.
 
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