The Yankees look for the sweep in Oakland behind the golden arm of ace C.C. Sabathia, who is coming off a rain shortened start in which he threw only 73 pitches. Sabathia may need to work deep into today’s game because both Mariano Rivera and Joba Chamberlain, who have worked in the first two games of this series, are unavailable. David Robertson is probably first in line to close out the game, but Damaso Marte could also be called upon if the A’s lefty laden bench dictates.
The Athletics counter with lefty Dallas Braden, who has pitched at least six innings in each of his first three starts. Braden is basically a fastball/change-up pitcher who also throws the occasional slider. His fastball tops out at 90mph, so he relies more on location and a change of speeds. That formula doesn’t usually work against the Yankees, but Braden has improved his efficiency as a pitcher.
For the final game of the series, Joe Girardi has juggled the lineup. Nick Johnson is making his first start in the field, pushing Mark Teixeira to DH, while Curtis Granderson gets his first day off, opening up CF to Brett Gardner. Marcus Thames gets the start in LF, which exposes his subpar defense to McAfee Coliseum’s large expanse.
| vs. Dallas Braden | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | HR | RBI |
| Derek Jeter SS | 6 | 0.600 | 0.667 | 0.600 | 0 | 3 |
| Nick Johnson 1B | 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Teixeira DH | 10 | 0.300 | 0.300 | 0.300 | 0 | 1 |
| Alex Rodriguez 3B | 2 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 2.500 | 1 | 1 |
| Robinson Cano 2B | 5 | 0.200 | 0.200 | 0.400 | 0 | 3 |
| Nick Swisher RF | 6 | 0.000 | 0.333 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Marcus Thames LF | 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Francisco Cervelli C | 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Brett Gardner CF | 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 29 | 0.346 | 0.379 | 0.500 | 1 | 8 |
| vs. C.C. Sabathia | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | HR | RBI |
| Rajai Davis CF | 12 | 0.083 | 0.083 | 0.083 | 0 | 0 |
| Daric Barton 1B | 6 | 0.333 | 0.333 | 0.833 | 0 | 1 |
| Ryan Sweeney RF | 7 | 0.167 | 0.286 | 0.167 | 0 | 0 |
| Kurt Suzuki C | 16 | 0.250 | 0.250 | 0.688 | 2 | 5 |
| Jake Fox DH | 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Kevin Kouzmanoff 3B | 11 | 0.182 | 0.182 | 0.182 | 0 | 0 |
| Adam Rosales 2B | 1 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 0 | 1 |
| Matt Carson LF | 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Cliff Pennington SS | 3 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 56 | 0.200 | 0.214 | 0.382 | 2 | 7 |
| Yankees vs. Athletics | |||
| Season: 2010 | Season: 2009 | Season: 2008 | All-Time |
| NYY: 2-0 | NYY: 7-2 | NYY: 5-1 | NYY: 1114-758 |
- The Yankees have scored at least three runs in all 14 games this season, their longest stretch to begin a season since the 2000 club reached 15 games.
- With yesterday’s victory, the Yankees have now won the first five series of the 2010 season, matching a franchise record set by the 1926 team.
- With another victory, the Yankees will match last April’s win total of 12.
- Braden was hit hard by the Yankees in his only career start against them. On July 26, 2009, he surrendered seven runs in 5+ innings to the Bombers.
- Sabathia, who was born in nearby Vallejo, is 2-4 with a 6.35 ERA in 9 games started in Oakland.
- Francisco Cervelli has now caught Sabathia’s last three starts.
- Kurt Suzuki has two career HRs against Sabathia in 16 career plate appearances. Suzuki has also crushed all Yankee pitchers. In 66 PAs against the pinstripes, he has a line of .385/.394/.585.
- The Yankees have a 2.14 ERA during their current six-game winning streak.
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