Athletics at Yankees
The New York Yankees host the Oakland Athletics on Sunday in the rubber match of their three-game series, seeking a sixth straight quality start from its rotation. CC Sabathia struck out a season-high nine and allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings of Saturday's 3-2 victory after Michael Pineda, Jordan Montgomery, Luis Severino and Masahiro Tanaka combined to allowed four runs in 28 1/3 innings in the previous four contests.
First-place New York (28-18) didn't record a hit Saturday until Matt Holliday swatted a two-run homer with two out in the sixth inning and finished with only two after Starlin Castro followed with a single. Oakland (22-26) is 7-16 on the road - the fewest victories in the American League and tied with Philadelphia for the least in baseball - and is hitting .228 away from home. Athletics manager Bob Melvin said he hopes first baseman Yonder Alonso (.275 batting average, 13 home runs, 30 RBIs) can return to the lineup Sunday after missing his third straight start Saturday because of a sore right wrist. Oakland's Andrew Triggs is 1-2 with a 3.97 ERA in four May starts after going 4-1, 1.84 in five April turns and opposes Pineda, who won his last two starts and pitched six or more innings in each of his last four outings.
TV: 1:05 p.m. ET, NBCSN California (Oakland), YES (New York)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Athletics RH Andrew Triggs (5-3, 2.77 ERA) vs. Yankees RH Michael Pineda (5-2, 3.35)
Triggs equaled a season high by allowing six runs while also yielding eight hits and three walks and striking out seven in 5 1/3 innings of a 12-3 loss to Boston on May 21. The 28-year-old Tennessee native yielded two runs in 12 innings over his previous two starts - a win and no-decision. Triggs, who is 2-0 with a 0.47 ERA in three road starts this season, permitted two runs in three innings in his only appearance against New York - a relief outing last season.
Pineda allowed two runs, six hits and one walk while striking out six in 6 1/3 innings of a 4-2 victory over Kansas City on Monday. The 28-year-old Dominican hasn't yielded more than three earned runs in his last eight starts since permitting four in his first outing of the season. Pineda, who is 4-1 with a 2.18 ERA in five home starts this season, is 3-1 with a 2.70 ERA, a 1.10 WHIP and .219 batting average against in five starts versus Oakland.
WALK-OFFS
1. Athletics 2B Jed Lowrie went 0-for-4 on Saturday before he was ejected in the eighth inning for arguing a called third strike. Lowrie was 16-for-29 over his previous seven games.
2. Yankees 3B Chase Headley, who is hitting .147 in May after batting .301 in April, is expected to be out of the lineup again Sunday as manager Joe Girardi tries to snap him out of his funk. "He's just frustrated and trying too hard," Girardi told reporters.
3. The road team had won the previous eight meetings prior to Saturday.