Oakland (51-44) at NY Yankees (50-45)

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oak

A's need to improve two-strike hitting

Jane Lee / MLB.com
The A's open the second half six games behind the first-place Angels in the American League West and know they have some work to do to catch the leaders. That begins by improving on their two-strike hitting approach.
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Athletics probable pitcher

Greg Smith

  • #23 LHP
  • (5-7) 3.43 ERA 74 SO
A's: Smith will get the series-opening nod in the absence of originally slated starter Joe Blanton, who was traded to Philadelphia on Thursday for three Minor Leaguers. Smith threw six shutout innings against the Mariners in his last start, but got zero run support -- nothing new for him -- en route to a no-decision. He left the game having received zero Oakland runs in seven of his 17 starts, and one run in another three outings. Smith scattered just four hits while walking one and striking out two. This will be his first career start against the Yankees.
  W-L ERA IP BB SO AVG
Career 5-7 3.43 110.1 47 74 .228
Season 5-7 3.43 110.1 47 74 .228
July 0-1 3.27 11.0 7 4 .231

Series at a Glance

Standings - 07/18/2008 W L PCT GB Home Away
Oakland Athletics (AL West) 51 44 .537 6.0 31-24 20-20
New York Yankees (AL East) 50 45 .526 6.0 27-22 23-23
Stats - 07/18/2008 AVG R HR RBI SB SO ERA IP H BB SO
OAK .249 410 70 386 50 703 3.39 854.0 742 306 635
NYY .266 436 90 425 60 547 4.12 842.0 844 292 652
nyy

Yanks carry urgency into second half

David Singh / MLB.com
The Yankees, having lost two of three to the Blue Jays to close out the first half of the season, will look to begin their second half on a strong note as they play the A's on Friday in the opener of a three-game set at Yankee Stadium.
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Yankees probable pitcher

Mike Mussina

  • #35 RHP
  • (11-6) 3.61 ERA 68 SO
Yankees: Mussina will take the mound for the Yankees first game following the All-Star break. The veteran right-hander last pitched on July 10 against the Pittsburgh Pirates in New York's final Interleague game of the season. He surrendered two earned runs on nine hits while striking out five over six strong innings of work. He is now 2-2 with a 3.09 ERA in his past three starts. The 39-year-old is 17-10 with a 3.82 ERA in his career against the Athletics.
  W-L ERA IP BB SO AVG
Career 261-150 3.70 3469.2 770 2731 .254
Season 11-6 3.61 107.1 16 68 .278
July 1-0 1.50 12.0 1 10 .289

Athletics hitters vs Mike Mussina

  2008 2003-2007
Hitter AVG AB HR RBI AVG AB HR RBI
Barton, Daric - - - - - - - -
Buck, Travis - - - - - - - -
Chavez, Eric - - - - .150 20 2 2
Cunningham, Aaron - - - - - - - -
Cust, Jack - - - - .222 9 0 0
Davis, Rajai - - - - - - - -
Ellis, Mark - - - - .250 16 0 0
Everidge, Tommy - - - - - - - -
Hairston, Scott - - - - - - - -
Patterson, Eric - - - - - - - -
Pennington, Cliff - - - - - - - -
Petit, Gregorio - - - - - - - -
Powell, Landon - - - - - - - -
Suzuki, Kurt - - - - .667 3 0 0
Sweeney, Ryan - - - - .200 5 0 1

Yankees hitters vs Greg Smith

  2008 2003-2007
Hitter AVG AB HR RBI AVG AB HR RBI
Cabrera, Melky - - - - .500 2 0 0
Cano, Robinson - - - - 1.000 2 1 3
Cervelli, Francisco - - - - - - - -
Duncan, Shelley - - - - - - - -
Gardner, Brett - - - - .000 2 0 0
Jeter, Derek - - - - .000 2 0 0
Miranda, Juan - - - - - - - -
Pena, Ramiro - - - - - - - -
Posada, Jorge - - - - .000 1 0 0
Rodriguez, Alex - - - - 1.000 2 0 1
Swisher, Nick .750 4 1 1 .429 7 1 1
Teixeira, Mark - - - - .500 6 0 1

Yankees mount well-rounded attack (51-45) (51-45)

Yankees 7, Athletics 1

A's held to one run

Willie Bans / MLB.com
Ryan Sweeney's fielder's-choice RBI opened the scoring, but that's all the A's would score off Yanks pitching in the series opener. Oakland arms didn't fare as well, with starter Greg Smith tagged with the loss after allowing six runs on eight hits in 3 2/3 innings.

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Series at a Glance

 

Moose gets the win

Bryan Hoch / MLB.com
A potent blend of top-notch pitching and timely hitting carried the Yankees over the A's to open the season's second half. Mike Mussina allowed one run and fanned six, backed by homers off the bats of Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez, as well as Richie Sexson's first RBI in pinstripes.
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Yankees 7, Athletics 1

OaklandABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVG
Ellis, 2B4110033.238
Suzuki, C4020010.283
Sweeney, R, RF4011001.300
Cust, DH4010033.230
Brown, E, LF4010013.255
Crosby, SS4010002.260
Gonzalez, C, CF4010001.273
Hannahan, 1B3000012.223
  a-Murton, PH1000010.208
Murphy, 3B3010021.186
Totals3519101216 

a-Struck out for Hannahan in the 9th.

BATTING
2B: Ellis (18, Mussina).
TB: Ellis 2; Suzuki 2; Sweeney, R; Cust; Brown, E; Crosby; Gonzalez, C; Murphy.
RBI: Sweeney, R (31).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Crosby; Ellis.
GIDP: Brown, E.
Team LOB: 7.

FIELDING
E: Crosby (11, throw).
Outfield assists: Sweeney, R (Rodriguez, A at home).
DP: (Murphy-Ellis-Hannahan).
 
NY YankeesABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVG
Jeter, SS3100202.282
Abreu, RF5221001.275
Rodriguez, A, 3B4232111.318
Posada, DH1100302.270
Sexson, 1B3011113.220
Cano, 2B4123003.249
Cabrera, M, CF4020000.245
Molina, J, C4000012.220
Gardner, LF4000012.150
Totals3271077416 

BATTING
2B: Abreu (23, Smith), Cabrera, M (11, Blevins).
HR: Cano (7, 3rd inning off Smith, 2 on, 2 out), Rodriguez, A (20, 6th inning off Braden, 0 on, 1 out).
TB: Abreu 3; Rodriguez, A 6; Sexson; Cano 5; Cabrera, M 3.
RBI: Sexson (31), Cano 3 (41), Abreu (60), Rodriguez, A 2 (55).
2-out RBI: Sexson; Cano 3; Abreu; Rodriguez, A.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Cano 2; Jeter.
GIDP: Sexson.
Team LOB: 8.

BASERUNNING
SB: Rodriguez, A (14, 2nd base off Smith/Suzuki).

FIELDING
DP: (Cano-Sexson).
 
OaklandIPHRERBBSOHRERA
Smith (L, 5-8)3.28665113.79
Blevins 1.11000200.00
Braden 1.01111014.80
Brown, A 1.00000002.23
DiNardo 1.00001109.28
 
NY YankeesIPHRERBBSOHRERA
Mussina (W, 12-6)6.09110603.49
Robertson 1.00000302.00
Ramirez, E 1.00000202.65
Hawkins 1.00000105.63

Pitches-strikes: Smith 88-49, Blevins 22-16, Braden 15-5, Brown, A 9-5, DiNardo 19-10, Mussina 93-64, Robertson 12-11, Ramirez, E 11-9, Hawkins 9-6.
Groundouts-flyouts: Smith 3-6, Blevins 1-1, Braden 2-1, Brown, A 1-2, DiNardo 1-1, Mussina 8-4, Robertson 0-0, Ramirez, E 1-0, Hawkins 2-0.
Batters faced: Smith 23, Blevins 5, Braden 4, Brown, A 3, DiNardo 4, Mussina 26, Robertson 3, Ramirez, E 3, Hawkins 3.
Inherited runners-scored: Blevins 3-0.
Umpires: HP: Mike Winters. 1B: James Hoye. 2B: Mike Estabrook. 3B: Hunter Wendelstedt.
Weather: 93 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 6 mph, Out to CF.
T: 2:47.
Att: 54,145.
July 18, 2008

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner