Tonight at 7:05 p.m. ET in the Bronx, the New York Yankees (29-27) will play host to the American League West leading Oakland Athletics (35-22) in Game 1 of a three-game set at Yankee Stadium. Live stream the game by clicking this link; Yankees fans can hear the action on 101.9 WFAN FM, while A's fans can find the radio broadcast on 95.7 FM The Game. The Yankees will send Hiroki Kuroda (4-3, 4.57 ERA) to the mound against lefty Scott Kazmir (6-2, 2.36 ERA).
The Yanks have scraped a winning record together in 2014 despite myriad injuries hitting their roster yet again, this time in the rotation. That could spell trouble in this series if Angels ace Jered Weaver's words hold true. "They have great pitching, guys who can get on base at the bottom of the order and who can do the little things," Weaver said of Oakland's grinding lineup.
The leader of that lineup is third baseman Josh Donaldson, who broke out in 2013 and has kept the momentum going. "Got some timely hits and we pitched well," Donaldson said after his A's finished a sweep of the Angels. "I definitely think it's one of those series we walk away and feel good about ourselves."
The injuries are a great concern for the Yanks, especially when one of the healthier players is the 40-year-old Kuroda. He insists the team won't have to worry about mileage or breaking down for him though.
"As a player, I feel responsible to stay healthy and be conditioned so I can compete with these guys for the whole season," Kuroda said. "We all have to get together as a whole and perform well."
Opposing Kuroda is one of MLB's better redemption stories--Kazmir. He was a hotshot prospect tossed on the scrap heap after several years of shoddy control and home run balls. Now he's been re-invented as something like an ace for these Athletics.
"I feel like I've improved a lot as a pitcher," he said. "I'm always going to have kind of that chip on my shoulder after what happened the last three or four years, but that's just the competitive side of me. Just got to stick with it."
© Copyright 2024 Sports World News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
