New York @ Oakland preview
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
Last Meeting ( May 27, 2012 ) NY Yankees 2, Oakland 0
After winning five of six on their successful homestand, the New York Yankees will travel across the country in hopes of continuing their road dominance of the Oakland Athletics. New York has won nine straight such contests against Oakland, and heads into Thursday's opener of the four-game set on a roll. The Yankees posted their ninth win in 11 outings on Wednesday after breezing to a 6-0 triumph over Toronto in a seven-inning rain-shortened affair.
Oakland also enters the series on a high after Brandon Hicks belted his first career homer to lift the Athletics to a 4-3 walkoff win over American League West rival Texas. The victory was Oakland's 10th in 12 outings. While not as homer-happy as the high-powered Yankees, the Athletics have gone deep 11 times in their last five games.
TV: 10:05 p.m. ET, YES (New York), CSCA (Oakland)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH Freddy Garcia (4-2, 5.25 ERA) vs. Athletics RH A.J. Griffin (1-0, 2.63)
Garcia overcame five walks in as many innings to record his second straight victory with a 5-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday. The 35-year-old has split 14 career decisions versus Oakland - but his 5.22 ERA and 1.46 WHIP are hardly imposing numbers.
Griffin has worked exactly six innings in all four of his starts this season. The 24-year-old rookie yielded three runs and eight hits, but struck out five in a 6-3 win over Minnesota on Friday. Griffin has yielded three homers in his last two trips to the mound.
WALK-OFFS
1. New York 1B Mark Teixeira is batting .326 with six homers, 19 RBIs and 13 runs scored in July. He fared pretty well versus Oakland when the teams met in May - going 8-for-14 with three homers.
2. Oakland CF Coco Crisp returned after a three-game absence due to a sore shoulder to go 1-for-3 on Wednesday. Crisp has struggled versus Garcia, going 5-for-28 in his career.
3. Yankees 2B Robinson Cano extended his career-best hitting streak to 21 games with a first-inning double on Wednesday. Cano is batting .420 with six homers and 20 RBIs during the streak.