New York Yankees vs. Oakland Athletics: Series Preview

Earlier this week in Seattle, the Yankees took a series over the Mariners and in the process clinched a playoff spot. That being said, just because that particular race is over doesn't mean they have nothing to play for over these last couple series. The AL East race is still very much in the balance at this point, even if the Yankees are in the driver's seat. Tonight, they can take another step closer to that as they open up a set against the Athletics.

Starting tonight, the Yankees will take what seems very likely to be their very last ever trip to Oakland, with the A's currently expected to play next season in Sacramento ahead of a planned move to Las Vegas toward the end of the decade. While the A's are well out of the playoff race this season, the have generally been pretty solid over the last couple months. They've played above .500 for the second half of the season, and have taken series over the Astros , Phillies , Mets , and others in that time.

Even before that run, Oakland did split a four-game series in the Bronx against the Yankees back in April. While New York should be favored to pick up a series win this week, the A's are not pushovers. Plus as we saw back in April, good luck if you get into the late innings trailing with Mason Miller on the horizon.

Before things get going tonight, let's take a look at the expected pitching matchups for the next couple days.

Friday: Gerrit Cole vs. J.T. Ginn (9:40 pm ET)

Last time we saw Cole, he was struggling against the Red Sox after the controversial Rafael Devers intentional walk. Annoyingly, he had been on a very good run before that, posting a 1.58 ERA in this seven starts prior. Even though he is still Gerrit Cole, he probably does need to bounce back with a good outing in this one, considering the frustration he caused last time around.

This will be the seventh ever appearance and the first ever against the Yankees for the rookie Ginn. An unsigned first round pick in the 2018 draft and then a second round pick by the Mets in 2020, Ginn went to Oakland in the 2022 Chris Bassitt trade. His MLB career so far generally grades out as below average, but he has shown some flashes, including striking out seven Mariners in six innings earlier this month.

Saturday: Carlos Rodón vs. JP Sears (9:07 pm ET)

It's a southpaw battle! In his last start, Rodón gave the Yankees 5.1 solid innings to help ensure that they took three out of four in their series against the Red Sox. His best start of the season probably came against the A's back in April, when he one-hit them over seven shutout innings. That was before the downs really started to come in what's been an up and down season for him.

Saturday has a chance to be a narrative-palooza, as former Yankee Sears will get the start for Oakland. The Yankees traded him to the Athletics back in the 2022 Frankie Montas trade, and he's been mostly just below average-ish over his now three seasons with them. Naturally, that does include six shutout innings against the Yankees back in April opposite Rodón.

Sunday: Luis Gil vs. Joey Estes (4:07 pm ET)

Gil was a bit wild early on in his last start, before settling down to put in five solid innings against the Mariners. This will be his fourth start back off the IL, and it's hard to complain too much about him, with a 1.13 ERA. The only real issue was has been walks, which he had appeared to have under better control prior to his IL stint. Gil will be hoping to shore up his claim for a potential playoff start, as the hypothetical Game 3 remains up in the air.