Los Angeles @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( May 7, 2014 ) NY Yankees 9, LA Angels 2

The first-place New York Yankees host the Los Angeles Angels for a three-game series beginning Friday and third baseman Chase Headley knows what it will take for them to stay on top. "If you don’t have starting pitching, it’s really difficult to win, and having a couple dominating guys at the top of the rotation is huge,” New York third baseman Chase Headley told reporters after the Yankees completed a three-game sweep in Seattle with a 3-1 victory that completed a 4-3 road trip.

While New York's rotation - led by Michael Pineda and a healthy Masahiro Tanaka - will likely determine whether the Yankees reach the postseason after a one-year hiatus, the back end of the bullpen is unhittable. Closer Andrew Miller is the first in franchise history to convert his initial 17 save opportunities with the team and set-up man Dellin Betances hasn't permitted a run in 29 1/3 innings this season. However, the pinstriped pitchers may not throw to their usual batterymate for a period of time as Brian McCann underwent an MRI on Thursday to examine a foot problem he's been dealing with since Sunday after leaving Wednesday's game in the second inning. Los Angeles has dropped two straight following a five-game win streak and gives the ball to red-hot Jered Weaver, who opposes Nathan Eovaldi.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, MLB Network, FSN West (Los Angeles), YES (New York)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Angels RH Jered Weaver (4-4, 4.08 ERA) vs. Yankees RH Nathan Eovaldi (4-1, 4.40)

Weaver, who was 0-4 with a 6.29 ERA in his first six turns of the season, continues to benefit from an adjustment made in his delivery early last month as he has uncorked five consecutive quality starts. The 32-year-old Californian is 4-0 with a 1.98 ERA during that stretch, including an 8-6 victory over Detroit on Saturday when he yielded three runs in 6 1/3 innings. Weaver is 7-4 with a 5.47 ERA in 14 career starts versus New York - 1-2, 8.17 in four outings at Yankee Stadium - and has trouble with Alex Rodriguez (9-for-26, five home runs, six walks, nine strikeouts).

Eovaldi received a no-decision after yielding a season-high 11 hits and three runs in 4 2/3 innings of New York's 5-3 victory at Oakland on Saturday to run his unbeaten streak to three outings. The 25-year-old Texan recorded only three quality starts among his 10 turns this season, including a 14-1 victory over Kansas City on May 25 when he allowed one run in seven innings. Eovaldi, who has permitted 26 hits in his last 16 innings covering three turns, is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in two starts against Los Angeles while with Miami and struggled against Albert Pujols and Mike Trout (each 4-for-6).

WALK-OFFS

1. New York (29-25) is 12-10 at Yankee Stadium - the worst record in home games among division leaders.

2. Pujols, who is two home runs shy of matching Yankees Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle for 16th on the all-time list with 536, is 14-for-36 with six home runs and 11 RBIs in his last nine games to raise his average 30 points to .258.

3. The Angels last won a series with New York in 2008 and are 22-27 versus the Yankees since.

PREDICTION: Angels 3, Yankees 2