Oakland will be looking to complete a three-game sweep of the Yankees Thursday night. The A’s won 6-4 on Wednesday behind homers from Khris Davis — who broke a home run drought that went back to July 30 — Marcus Semien and Stephen Piscotty. Mike Ford went 3 for 4 with a home run for the Yankees.
New York will send Masahiro Tanaka (9-6, 4.56 ERA) to the mound against Tanner Roark (7-8, 4.01 ERA). Tanaka has lost just once in his last 12 starts. Roark will be making his fourth start with Oakland. He is 1-1 with a 2.55 ERA since being acquired from Cincinnati.
New York is the slight favorite at -110, and the over/under is 9.5.
Yankees Look to End Skid
The Yankees have lost three in a row and four of their last six. They still sit comfortably in the lead of the AL East with a nine-game lead over the Rays. New York is 83-45 and 34-25 on the road.
Tanaka is 3-2 with a 2.53 ERA in five career starts against the A’s. He has not had as much success in Oakland, where he is 1-1 with a 4.91 ERA. The veteran right-hander is 4-1 in seven starts since the All-Star break. He has a WHIP of 1.38 and an ERA of 6.46. He has not been nearly as sharp in the second half and has been bailed out by great run support.
Yankee hitters haven’t seen much of Roark, but what they have seen they’ve liked. They have a team OPS of .934 in 34 plate appearances. Didi Gregorius is 2 for 6 with both of his hits being home runs. Cameron Maybin is 4 for 7 with a double.
New York has Luke Voit, Luis Severino, Dellin Betances, and Giancarlo Stanton on the IL, and Brett Gardner is listed as day-to-day.
Athletics Making a Run
Oakland enters at 73-53 and is 42-24 at home. They are now tied for the second Wild Card with Tampa Bay and a half-game back of Cleveland for the top spot. The A’s have won six of their last seven games.
Roark has been a huge lift to the rotation since coming over from Cincinnati. He has a WHIP 1.19 and has given up two runs or less in all three of his outings. He has faced the Yankees only once and is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA.
Oakland hitters have struggled mightily against Tanaka. They have an OPS of only .424 in 43 plate appearances with 16 strikeouts. Matt Chapman is 2 for 2 with a double, and Mark Canha is 2 for 6 with two doubles, the only Oakland players with OPS’s above .333 against Tanaka.
Oakland has Sean Manaea and Ramon Laureano on the IL, and Brett Anderson, Sean Murphy, and Stephen Piscotty are listed as day-to-day.
The Pick
If you look at this pitching matchup from a post-All-Star break, it is all A’s. Roark has been really good, and Tanaka has been awful, and that is being kind. But, their career numbers say exactly the opposite. I expected the Yankees to be a bigger favorite considering the unlikelihood of getting swept and Tanaka’s career numbers.
I think Tanaka comes out of his funk, and Roark regresses to the mean as the Yankees avoid the sweep and get the win. I’m riding the Yankees at -110.
