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New York Yankees Series Preview: Homestand Continues Against The Oakland Athletics

Keys To A Series Win

Make It A Habit:

Seven valuable innings from your starter, a filthy inning from Betances, and another dominant inning from Miller? Yeah, that’ll work.

The Yankees could probably ask for their ring sizes if that becomes a habit, especially with Aroldis Chapman’s return around the corner.

However, despite Tanaka’s outing, the starting rotation ranks near the bottom of the American League with 61.2 innings pitched and a 5.25 ERA.

The Japanese native was the first starter to last seven innings, and all New York can hope for is if the rest of the squad can follow suit.

Stay Filthy, My Friends:

Setup man Dellin Betances (22.5 K/9) and interim closer Andrew Miller (21.6 K/9) have struck out 27 of the 41 batters they have faced so far.

Betances, Miller, Johnny Barbato and Chasen Shreve have pitched a combined 21.1 innings, have struck out 38 batters, and have only walked five.

This bullpen clearly sets themselves apart from any ‘pen in baseball and it will only get better on May 9th. If the Yankees plan on competing, continued dominance is imperative.

Change The Narrative vs. Southpaws:

The Yankee lineup will face two left-handed pitchers in this series, which, beyond any doubt, poses an issue.

Through 11 games in 2016, the Yankees slash .215/.319/.304 against lefties and their five runs scored against southpaws ranks 27th in the league.

It has a lot to do with the switch-hitting Chase Headley experiencing a depressing slump and Alex Rodriguez’s .118 batting average, but the best pitchers in the AL (David Price, Dallas Keuchel) will prove to be an impossible hurdle unless the Bombers can turn it around.
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