I hope you're all ready for MORNING BASEBALL, in my opinion the worst of all things. I'm groggy, I'm tired, and there's a decent chance I make good on my daily threat to go back to bed. But baseball!
The A's will look to complete the sweep versus the Yankees today. And for all you that want the media to take us seriously as a great team, sweeping the Yankees in New York is always a good way to do that, regardless of how the Yankees are playing. And this is a team that's currently at .500, has lost 4 in a row, and has little in the way of offensive firepower.
They're going to have to steal a pitching matchup they absolutely have no business winning: Drew Pomeranz (5-2, 2.37) versus Masahiro Tanaka (8-1, 2.08). I love how those numbers make it look like an ace-off. In reality, Tanaka's the only real ace here -- in case you haven't heard, the ridiculous offseason deal has paid off big time. Tanaka is currently the leading Cy Young candidate, leading the majors in WHIP and ERA. He has 10.1 K/9, and 1.4 BB/9. His FIP is top 5 in the AL, and his xFIP is top 1 in the MLB. In short, he's... you know, he's decent.
Drew Pomeranz will look to finally, finally, finally, finally, work 6 innings. That would be nice. However, with the way the bullpen has performed recently, I wouldn't be too disappointed in a Pomeranz special: 5 innings, no runs. I would take that in a heartbeat. He's coming off his worst start of the year, in which he gave up 5 runs in 5.1 innings -- the result of 3 walks and 2 HRs. Hopefully he'll be able to right the ship here.
If it's any help, the Yankees are the #12 offense in the American league, only a few runs better than the Royals, Astros, and Rays. The A's are #1.
Here's the lineup, in which Stephen Vogt is playing RF. Oh, oh god. Welp.