Xam’s Daily Gem:
Yankees -1 -167 DraftKings 7 Units
PLAY OF THE DAY!
The Yankees have clinched a playoff berth, but they still have work to do to wrap up the AL East. Luckily, they’re facing one of the WORST teams in baseball this weekend in the Oakland Athletics. The Yankees are sending their ace, Gerrit Cole, to the mound. Cole, the reigning AL Cy Young award winner, is coming off a disastrous start against the Red Sox his last time out, where he gave up SEVEN runs! However, despite that poor outing, Cole has been solid this year since returning from an elbow injury. He comes into this start with a 3.97 ERA and 1.27 WHIP. In his last 7 starts, however, he’s REALLY stepped up! Despite the poor outing he just had, over his last 7 starts, Cole has a STELLAR 2.97 ERA and 1.14 WHIP. He’s also been FANTASTIC on the road! He has a 2.84 ERA, .222 batting average against, and 1.13 WHIP away from Yankee Stadium. This is BAD NEWS for an Athletics team averaging just 3.93 runs per game in their last 30 games and 3.53 runs per game over their last 15 games. The A’s counter with youngster J.T. Ginn in this matchup. He’s only pitched 23.2 innings this season and has a 4.94 ERA and 1.39 WHIP to show for it. In his last start, he struggled MIGHTILY against the worst team in baseball, the Chicago White Sox. He surrendered 10 hits and 3 earned runs in just 5 innings of work. He struggled in his start before that as well, giving up 7 hits and 3 earned runs to the Tigers. The Yankees have unfinished business and after losing to the Mariners yesterday, they NEED to get back on track! The Yankees SHOULD have just about all of their bullpen arms available aside from Jake Cousins. (Clay Holmes pitched in 2 straight games and 3 of his last 4, so manager Aaron Boone may want to avoid using his former closer if possible.) However, the Yankees have an ELITE bullpen, a GREAT lineup, and one of the best pitchers in baseball on the mound. They need this game and they shouldn’t have ANY ISSUES getting the job done!