Oakland @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 23, 2011 ) Oakland 4, NY Yankees 3

THE STORY: The Oakland Athletics snapped a long losing streak to the New York Yankees on Saturday afternoon. Now they have an opportunity to win a series against the Yankees for the first time in a very long time. The Yankees were hoping to keep pace with the Boston Red Sox in the American League East by beating up on the Athletics, but had a little trouble in the sweltering midday heat. Oakland will be looking to break a streak of nine straight series losses to the Yankees when it sends Gio Gonzalez to the mound in the rubber match of a three-game series at New York on Sunday.

TV: 1:05 p.m. ET, CS California (Oakland), YES (New York)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH Bartolo Colon (6-6, 3.34 ERA) vs. LH Gio Gonzalez (9-6, 2.33).

Just when it looked like Colon was turning back into a pumpkin, the burly righthander went out and put up a quality start at Tampa Bay on Tuesday. He still took the loss in a 3-2 final but lasted 6 1/3 innings and struck out nine after managing only two outs in his previous turn. Colon pitched his best game of the season at Oakland on May 30, striking out six while allowing four hits and not walking a batter in a complete-game shutout. Gonzalez has emerged as one of the better starters in the AL this season. He is fourth in the league in ERA and ninth with 119 strikeouts. The 25-year old lefthander went seven scoreless innings to earn a win against the Los Angeles Angels on July 17 and has allowed two earned runs or fewer in six of his last seven outings. Gonzalez struggled against New York on June 1, yielding four runs in 6 1/3 innings to take the loss, and owns a 1-3 record with a 6.33 ERA against the Yankees in his career.

ABOUT THE YANKEES (58-40): New York pounded the Athletics 17-7 in the series opener Friday for their 11th straight victory over Oakland. They should have saved a couple runs for Saturday, though, as the Yankees lost 4-3. A.J. Burnett pitched well but ran out of gas in the sixth inning under temperatures that approached 100 degrees. It should be another hot one Sunday, but New York can feel confident about its chances when it looks back at the 25-5 record it holds against Oakland since the start of 2008. Brett Gardner, recently installed as the leadoff hitter in the Yankees lineup, had his 10-game hitting streak snapped Saturday with an 0-for-4 day. Curtis Granderson, making his second straight start as the No. 3 hitter, went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and was caught stealing after a walk.

ABOUT THE ATHLETICS (44-56): Oakland is expected to be a major player at the upcoming trade deadline with a trio of attractive outfielders and a strong bullpen that will draw interest. Josh Willingham increased his value Saturday with his 13th homer - a two-run blast - and relievers Brad Ziegler, Craig Breslow and Grant Balfour combined for 2 2/3 scoreless innings in front of the scouts. Rookie Jemile Weeks went 2-for-4 Saturday - his sixth multi-hit game in his last seven starts.

FINAL PITCH: The Yankees paid tribute to Hideki Matsui’s 500th career home run (combined between Japan and the Untied States) on Friday and the fans responded with a loud ovation when Matsui hit his 501st on Saturday. Matsui was the 2009 World Series MVP for New York and played for the Yankees from 2003-2009.