Athletics at Yankees
The New York Yankees needed a comeback victory to avoid their first three-game losing streak of the season and instead will play a rubber match in their three-game series against the visiting Oakland Athletics on Sunday. New York erased a four-run deficit to send Saturday's game into extra innings and Neil Walker's run-scoring single in the 11th gave the Yankees a 7-6 victory.
New York (27-12), which has won 18 of its last 21 games, leads the major leagues in runs at 5.8 per contest despite a .249 batting average that sits in the middle pack. Oakland (19-20) has lost four of its last five games and hopes to not squander scoring chances like it did Saturday, when it had the bases loaded and none out in the ninth inning and two on with no one out in the 10th but didn't score either time. New York's Luis Severino is 1-0 with a 2.05 ERA in his last three starts - versus the Los Angeles Angels, Houston and Boston - and opposes Brett Anderson, who was roughed up in his second turn of the season after a promising debut outing. “Every time I hand Sevy the ball, I expect great things,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters about Severino, who has recorded five consecutive quality starts.
TV: 1:05 p.m. ET, NBCS California (Oakland), YES (New York)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Athletics LH Brett Anderson (0-1, 8.68 ERA) vs. Yankees RH Luis Severino (5-1, 2.21)
Anderson allowed nine runs (seven earned), 10 hits and three walks, and didn't strike out a batter in a 16-2 loss to Houston on Monday. The 30-year-old Texan, who was signed to a minor-league deal in March, permitted two runs in 6 1/3 innings in Oakland's 3-2 victory at Seattle on May 2. Giancarlo Stanton is 0-for-6 versus Anderson, who is 0-5 with a 6.81 ERA in seven starts versus New York.
Severino received a no-decision after yielding two runs and six hits while striking out a season-high 11 in New York's 3-2 victory over the Red Sox on Tuesday. The 24-year-old Dominican recorded his first career shutout against the Astros on May 2 with 10 Ks, giving him 63 strikeouts in 53 innings this season. Mark Canha has a home run in three at-bats while Jed Lowrie is 2-for-6 versus Severino, who hasn't earned a decision with a 4.50 ERA in two starts versus Oakland with the Yankees losing both games.
WALK-OFFS
1. New York SS Didi Gregorius (.268, 10 home runs, 31 RBIs) snapped an 0-for-30 funk with a single Saturday.
2. Athletics LF Khris Davis (11 home runs) has gone deep in the last two games -- the third time this season he's homered in consecutive contests with one occurrence being three straight games.
3. The Yankees hit back-to-back home runs for the first time this season Saturday when Gary Sanchez (his 10th) and Aaron Hicks (third) turned the trick in the second inning to make it 2-0.