Pitching Matchups

Thursday 10:05 pm EST- Kendall Graveman vs. Ivan Nova

Graveman, a 25-year old sinkerballer who came over to the As in the Josh Donaldson trade, has gotten bombed in the early going in 2016. He’s allowed a whopping 10 long-balls in his first 37 innings, leaving him with an ugly 5.84 ERA through seven starts.

He does have an obscene 25.6% HR/FB ratio for what it’s worth, so if that normalizes he should be roughly where he was in 2015. Of course, that wasn’t very good either. Graveman’s 4.05 ERA looked solid last year, but he had the 15th worst DRA (5.71) among all starters who threw 100 innings last season.

Friday 9:35 pm EST- Sonny Gray vs. CC Sabathia

Just one season removed from making his first All Star Game and finishing third in the AL Cy Young voting, Oakland’s ace has suffered a mystifying collapse. His home run rate has more than doubled to 1.6 per nine, he leads the league with six wild pitches, and is walking batters at the highest rate of his career. A slight dip in velocity is an incomplete explanation at best.

Yes, it has only been eight starts and at 26, he is likely far from his decline years, but there’s been no signs of a turnaround as of yet. Sadly, facing this Yankee lineup may be exactly what he needs to get his confidence back.

Saturday 4:05 pm EST- Sean Manaea vs. Masahiro Tanaka

Manaea, a former Royals first rounder who came over to Oakland in last summer’s Ben Zobrist deal, had three rocky starts to begin his major league career, but showed promise in his latest against the Rangers. On Monday he held Texas to just one earned over 6 ⅔, allowing four hits and striking out three.

The big righty has thrown his 91-94 mph four seamer roughly 60% of the time this year. He also mixes in a slider and change that are considered by most scouts to be average or better MLB offerings. He cruised quickly through the minors, with just 12 starts above A-Ball on his resume. Time will tell whether he will require more seasoning.

Sunday 4:05 pm EST- Jesse Hahn vs. Michael Pineda
Hahn took over the recently demoted Eric Surkamp’s spot in the rotation Tuesday and is lined up for this start as well. Surkamp had a 6.55 ERA in five appearances as Oakland’s fifth starter, earning him a one-way trip to Triple-A Nashville Monday. Hahn himself had been optioned to the minors less than ten days earlier, but an injury to catcher Josh Phegly allowed the team to recall him before the usual limit expired.

The 26-year-old righty has struggled with his control since the spring. Hahn was a surprise omission from the Opening Day roster because of his issues, and was once again demoted after just two starts on April 30 and May 7. On the season he has seven walks and just six strikeouts in 18 ⅔ innings pitched. Although his run prevention has been in line with his career numbers, his 6.00 DRA and 5.60 FIP would seem to indicate that he is a disaster waiting to happen.

Bullpen

Oakland has had one of the better bullpens in baseball by DRA with a 3.78 mark that ranks fifth in MLB.

Lineup

Neither Billy Burns (.225 TAv) nor Coco Crisp (.260 TAv) have the on base skills to be effective table-setters at this point, but are regularly penciled into the top two spots in Bob Melvin’s lineup. The 36-year-old Crisp is having a modest bounce-back after an injury plagued 2015 season.

Impending free agent rightfielder Josh Reddick (.301 TAv) has been the rock in the middle of Oakland’s order the past few years and remains a consistent source of left-handed power. Fellow sluggers Stephen Vogt (.243 TAv) and Khris Davis (.268 TAv) have not produced as expected, however, which is a major reason the Athletics rank 23rd in the majors with a .141 ISO through their first 38 contests. Versatile veteran Danny Valencia (.333 TAv), who was claimed off waivers from Toronto last August, has provided a spark in limited time.

Jed Lowrie (.248 TAv) and Marcus Semien (.284 TAv) were a competent, if unexciting, middle infield duo before the former went down with a right shin contusion. Of course, that’s always the risk of expecting Lowrie to play a regular role.

Billy Butler’s (.193 TAv) three year $30 million contract somehow looks infinitely worse than it was signed, despite being one of the most panned deals of the 2014-2015 offseason. With no power, on base skills, speed, or defensive value, he literally has nothing remaining to offer a baseball team. The trade that sent Drew Pomeranz to San Diego for first baseman Yonder Alonso (.217 TAv) is also starting to look like a major blunder for Billy Beane.

Injuries

The Athletics currently have the most players on the disabled list of any major league club with eleven. Here are the highlights:

– Two A’s starters, Chris Bassitt and Felix Doubront, have undergone TJ surgery thus far. Another, Henderson Alvarez, has been recovering from a 2015 shoulder surgery. He was recently pulled from what was supposed to be his last rehab start and his status is uncertain. A fourth, Jarrod Parker, hasn’t pitched since 2013 because of three separate elbow surgeries.

– Reliever R.J. Alvarez is yet another elbow surgery casualty. He has been on the 60-day DL since March 25. Liam Hendricks rounds out the list of pitchers on the DL with a tricep strain expected to keep him out at least two weeks.

– Outfielder Sam Fuld and first baseman Mark Canha will miss the remainder of the season following shoulder and hip surgery respectively. Infielder Eric Sogard is expected to sit out the first two months with an injured knee. In addition, Jed Lowrie decided to take his annual DL trip on May 10, but hopes to return to the lineup by the end of the month. The most recent ailment is the inflammation in Josh Phegley’s right knee which landed him on the 15-day DL Monday.

Photo Credit: Evan Habeeb / USA TODAY Sports

Normally, such late-inning affairs fall in favor of the Yankees. However, in an occurrence as rare as finding a unicorn, the Yankees bullpen was outpitched on Tuesday. Oakland’s relievers combined for 5 1/3 innings and only allowed one baserunner — a Chase Headley single in the ninth — but New York couldn’t push across the winning run.

Then in the 11th, with Johnny Barbato one strike away from sending the Yankees up to bat, Mark Canha drove in the game-winning run and the A’s held on to win 3-2 in New York’s first extra inning game of the season.

The Play — Mark Canha’s game-winning single (.336 WPA)

Johnny Barbato hadn’t given up a run all season before tonight, but in the 11th inning he ran into trouble. As Jed Lowrie stood on third with two outs, Mark Canha lined an 0-2 pitch off Didi Gregorius’s glove and into left field. Lowrie would ultimately score the winning run after Ryan Madson came in to shut the door for Oakland in the bottom of the 11th.

Top Performers

Athletics — Jed Lowrie, 4-for-5, 2B, RBI

Yankees — Alex Rodriguez, 2-for-5, RBI

Notes

— Michael Pineda started the game for the Yankees and pitched well, allowing two runs over six innings on 97 pitches. His day could have been better though, as the second run came on a triple that glanced off Brett Gardner’s glove in the sixth. Still, it’s a positive start for Pineda and hopefully he can continue the momentum into his next start and find some consistency.

— Starlin Castro batted in the No. 2 hole for the first time this season and went 1-for-5. Castro has had severe home/road splits so far this season, hitting much better in the hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium.

Starlin Castro likes Yankee Stadium.

In six home games: .480 (12-25), 2 HR, 8 RBIs.

In five road games: .118 AVG (2-17).

— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) April 19, 2016

— Carlos Beltran got another hit tonight, going 1-for-4 with an RBI and run scored. The veteran outfielder is now hitting .333/.340/.600 on the young season.

— In the ninth inning, after Didi Gregorius failed to lay down a bunt, pinch-runner and would-be-winning-run Jacoby Ellsbury was caught stealing second off a perfect throw from A’s catcher Steven Vogt. On primary day, most Yankees fans probably “Vogt-ed” for a mulligan. His defense earlier in the game probably saved the Yankees however, making a really nice backhand and throw right after Pineda exited.

That's some Gregorgeous defense by the Yankee shortstop. #Golden pic.twitter.com/TPfFbnZFZI

— Yankeesource (@YankeeSource) April 20, 2016

— Andrew Miller’s dominance out of the bullpen continued, although his consecutive strikeout streak ended. Miller had struck out eight straight batters before Marcus Seimen grounded out in the ninth.

The Highlight — Betances strikes out Khris Davis

Savage. pic.twitter.com/erIGKKwiAg

— Matthew Stucko (@MatthewStucko) April 20, 2016

Dellin Betances had a surprisingly rough outing tonight, but with the go-ahead run on second base he blew a fastball by Khris Davis and got through the 8th inning unscathed.

Next up

The Yankees continue their series against Oakland tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m. Kendall Graveman (0-1, 2.38 ERA) will face Nathan Eovaldi (0-1, 6.94) on the mound. Graveman went 6 innings and allowed only one run on four hits in his last start, while Eovaldi gave up fo runs on seven hits in 6.2 innings, but struck out eight.

The 0-2 pitch was well within the strike zone:

Bottom Play (WPA): Tyler Clippard entered the game for Oakland in the tenth with the A’s up 4-3. After two outs and a walk, he faced Alex Rodriguez. He walked A-Rod to face Mark Teixeira. The second of the team’s two all-stars, Teixeira, struck out in a six pitch at-bat to end the game. With a runner in scoring position, this dropped the Yankees’ chances of winning from 15.8 percent to zero.

Key Moment: Following the departed Sonny Gray, Fernando Rodriguez took to the mound in the eighth to face A-Rod. The at-bat resulted in a strikeout, but Rodriguez reached first on a wild third strike in the dirt. Tied 3-3, this proved to be a key opportunity for the Yankees. Drew Pomeranz took over for the Athletics to face Teixeira, who grounded into a double play, essentially ending any possible threat and decreasing New York’s chances of winning by 14 percent.

Trend to Watch: Today’s game marked the Yankees’ first since the announcements of all-stars on Monday. That being said, the two Yankee representatives played very poorly in the first game of the three-game series. Starting with Teixeira, an 0-5 night did anything but validate his role as an all-star. With three strikeouts and five runners left on, his batting average dropped below .240 for the first time since June 9th.

However, it’s the bullpen I’d like to focus on. The Yankees’ two most reliable relievers, Chasen Shreve and Dellin Betances, have both struggled in their last two outings. Shreve walked two batters, gave up two hits, and allowed a run in his outing on July 3rd against Tampa. The following day, Betances allowed two hits and two runs on a homer. Tonight, Shreve earned a blown save while Betances picked up the loss, combining for two runs in 2.1 innings.

While this seems to be just a bump in the road, the next appearance is big for both relievers.

Coming Next: Tomorrow’s matchup will be C.C. Sabathia (3-8, 5.59 ERA) against potential trade candidate Scott Kazmir (5-5, 2.56 ERA). Kazmir’s next Yankee Stadium outing may be in pinstripes, so tomorrow is a good chance to get a look at a possible future Yankee.

Also…

Andrew Miller & Jacoby Ellsbury set to return to the #Yankees tomorrow: http://t.co/S4aIVRlrUWpic.twitter.com/8eaulpB0U8

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) July 7, 2015

(Photo: Brad Penner-USA Today Sports)