The New York Yankees will lock horns with the Oakland Athletics on Saturday for the second game of their three game series at the Yankee Stadium. Earlier, with the help of a spectacular performance by Russell Martin, the Yankees had registered a 2-1 victory over the Athletics. This was their sixth win in a row.

Russell Martin helped New York to a 2-1 victory over the Athletics in the opener of a crucial three-game set. He crushed a lead-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Yankees held a 1-0 lead entering the ninth inning, but the game was sent into extra innings when Rafael Soriano gave up a one-out, pinch-hit blast to Brandon Moss.

David Robertson (2-7) then retired the A's in order in the top of the 10th, then Martin jumped on the second pitch in the bottom half and launched it into the left-field seats to send the Yankees to their sixth straight victory.

Sean Doolittle was pretty upset with the loss. "Our guys scrapped and fought the whole night and then to lose it like that, it's really, really tough," he said.

New York are one game ahead of Baltimore Orioles at the top of the AL East after the Orioles defeated the Boston Red Sox on Friday. The Athletics dropped one game behind the Orioles for the first AL wild card slot, but hold a 3 1/2-game lead over the Los Angeles Angels for the final playoff spot.

The starters for both teams were pretty impressive as CC Sabathia and Jarrod Parker put in strong performances. "I think every win from here on out is going to be the biggest win. It just feels good to be a part of it," Sabathia said after the game.

Sean Doolittle (1-1) was tagged with the loss after giving up Martin's solo shot, as Oakland lost for the fourth time in their last five games.