New York Yankees

After winning game one of the series, the New York Yankees will turn to their big lefty to provide an encore against the Oakland A’s on Friday night.  

  • New York Yankees (18-23)
  • Oakland Athletics (19-23)
  • American League, 9:35 PM ET, YES Network
  • Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, CA
The New York Yankees will get their competitive and inspirational starting pitcher, CC Sabathia back tonight as they look to prevail over the Oakland Athletics at the Coliseum yet again.

The 35-year old will return to the hill for the first time since May fourth thanks to a groin injury that sidelined him since then.

The big lefty is coming off an outing in which he went seven scoreless frames en route to a victory over the Baltimore Orioles. He has struggled at the Coliseum, however, as he is 4-7 with a 5.44 ERA in 15 starts.

Sonny Gray, the righty who will be opposing Sabathia, has been shaky in 2016 and is attempting to get on track. The anchor of this A’s pitching staff has yet to record a victory as he owns a 5.84 ERA so far.

In his three career starts against the Yankees, Gray is 1-1 with a 3.43 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 21 innings.

Brett Gardner, who reached base four times last night, is 4-for-10 (.400) in his career vs Gray and has an OPS of 1.100. In his last seven games, Gardner is slashing .350/.435/.500 with an OPS of .935 while clubbing one home run.

What Happened Last Night?

Last night, the Yankees earned their ninth victory in 14 games by a score of 4-1. Carlos Beltran cranked a two-run home run to pad a lead that was held for six innings by Ivan Nova.

Nova only tossed 62 pitches but manager Joe Girardi decided to go with the reliable “No-Run DMC” to secure the Yankees’ second win in a row.

Roster Moves:

There have been no calls from the Electric City today but there sure were some moves involving the Scranton Shuttle.

Due to the reinstatement of Sabathia from the 15-day disabled list, the Yankees optioned James Pazos to Triple-A. Additionally, they outrighted the left-handed Phil Coke to the Railriders.

They also inked left-hander Neal Cotts to a minor league deal and optioned him to Triple-A. In 17 appearances for the Minnesota Twins in 2015, Cotts maintained a 3.95 ERA with a 1.390 WHIP. 

First pitch of tonight’s ballgame will come our way at approximately  9:35 PM ET with full coverage being provided by the YES Network.

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