Oakland @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 22, 2012 ) Oakland 9, NY Yankees 10

The New York Yankees have been fighting for the past week to hold off the Baltimore Orioles in the American League East. Seven straight victories later, the Yankees are still only one game up. The last of those wins was the most dramatic, as the Yankees overcame a four-run deficit in extra innings to stun the Oakland Athletics on Saturday. The Athletics are enduring a rough road trip and will try to avoid a sweep Sunday.

Oakland has dropped four of its last five games to fall two games behind the Orioles for the top wild card spot. The Los Angeles Angels have crept to within 2 1/2 games of the Athletics for the second wild card spot. Oakland scored four times in the top of the 13th inning with three home runs on Saturday, but was let down by its bullpen in a 10-9 setback. New York has delivered walk-off wins in each of the first two games of the series, getting key hits from unlikely sources Russell Martin and Raul Ibanez. The Yankees are done with the difficult portion of their schedule after Sunday and end the season with series against sub-.500 teams Minnesota, Toronto and Boston.

TV: 1:05 p.m. ET, CSCA (Oakland), YES (New York), TBS

PITCHING MATCHUP: Athletics RH A.J. Griffin (6-1, 2.45 ERA) vs. Yankees RH Hiroki Kuroda (14-10, 3.26)

Griffin had not allowed more than three runs in any of his first 11 appearances, but was knocked around for five runs on eight hits over 4 2/3 innings in the 12th last Tuesday at Detroit. That also marked the first loss for the 24-year-old right-hander. Griffin defeated the Yankees on July 19, surrendering two runs and seven hits in six innings. He struck out four and did not walk a batter.

Kuroda has struggled a bit lately, allowing four runs in three of his last four turns. The veteran right-hander gave up four runs to the Tampa Bay Rays last Sunday but struck out 10 and rode his offense to a win. Kuroda dominated at Oakland on May 27, surrendering four hits in eight scoreless innings.

WALK-OFFS

1. Yankees OF Ichiro Suzuki is 14-for-20 in his last five games.

2. Oakland RF Josh Reddick went 0-for-7 on Saturday and is just 12-for-83 (.145) over his last 20 games.

3. New York SS Derek Jeter has hit safely in 16 straight games and is leading the majors with 204 hits.