Series Preview: A’s to Take on Yankees in Sacramento

Coming off a much-needed off-day for the A’s, they will take on the AL East-leading New York Yankees. The Yankees are coming off a series win against the Padres, following a walk-off win thanks to backup catcher J.C. Escarra. New York is 5-5 in their last ten and 21-16 overall, two games clear of the second place Boston Red Sox.

The Athletics (20-18) just finished a series against the AL West leaders in the Seattle Mariners. Although the bats were hot, the short-rested bullpen blew back-to-back games that cost them the series. They had a chance to sweep Seattle, holding late leads in each game, but were unable to close out the final two contests.

With the team having Thursday to rest up, the bullpen should be more or less ready to go against a tough Yankees offense led by Aaron Judge, who leads all of baseball with a .400 batting average. A's rookie shortstop Jacob Wilson is second in the category, batting .357 while not possessing nearly as much power at the plate.

Friday May 9th, Will Warren vs Osvaldo Bido

The visiting Yankees will be going with the 25-year-old Will Warren to open up the series. The righty is coming off two shortened starts where he allowed three earned runs against the Rays in 4.2 innings, and four against Baltimore in 3.1 frames. In both of those last two starts, Warren earned the loss.

He has yet to surpass five innings in any start this season, which could open up an opportunity for the A's to get him out of the game early and start to work on tiring out the Yankee bullpen for the remainder of the series.

On the other hand, the A’s will be starting righty Osvaldo Bido, who is coming off two five inning starts of his own. Bido allowed four earned runs against the Marlins, and just one against the White Sox in those outings. He also typically goes around five innings, but has pitched into the sixth a couple of times this season.

While his ERA stands at 4.71 entering Friday's game, that damage was largely done in one start against the Texas Rangers, where he gave up eight runs across 5.1 innings of work, which took him from a 2.61 to a 4.85 three starts ago.

It’s going to be crucial for the A’s offense to continue to stay hot against Will Warren, especially considering that the Yankees' offense has scored 16 runs in the last two games. They've also scored 206 runs this season, making them one of just four teams to eclipse 200 so far this season. The A's are not one of the other three, sitting at 165.

Saturday May 10th, Carlos Rodón vs JP Sears

For Game 2, it’ll be a battle of the southpaws as former Yankee JP Sears will be facing veteran starter Carlos Rodón.

Rodón made a start for the Yankees in their last series against the Padres, going 6.2 innings of scoreless ball, allowing just three hits and one walk while striking out five. Despite holding a 2.96 ERA on the year, he's just 4-3.

JP Sears is also coming off a good start against the Marlins, where he pitched 6.1 innings and allowed just four hits and two runs. The 29-year-old holds a 2.93 ERA through seven starts and has been the best member of the rotation for the A's in the early going.

Even though both pitchers are off to great starts this season, both offenses have homered off these arms in the past. In nine at-bats against Rodón, Miguel Andujar has taken him deep and has recorded 3 RBI.

Aaron Judge, Paul Goldschmidt, Anthony Volpe, and Oswaldo Cabrera have taken JP Sears deep in their careers, and some of those came at the Oakland Coliseum, which is more of a pitcher's park. Sears is pitcher better to begin 2025 than in years past, however.

Sunday May 11th, Clarke Schmidt vs Luis Severino

To wrap up the three-game set, the A’s will have their ace facing his former club with Luis Severino getting the ball for the finale. The projected starter for New York is Clarke Schmidt. Severino has never faced the Yankees, spending the first eight years of his career playing with them before joining the Mets in 2024.

Severino faced the Mets at Sutter Health Park earlier this season and was more dominant than the final line would indicate. He went 5.2 innings, gave up four hits, one run, walked three, and struck out six. He gave up a hit to his last batter, and that runner came around to score on the bullpen, accounting for his lone run allowed.

The righty enters this game against his former club with an ERA of 3.62. The ace was brought in this off-season to a franchise record three-year, $67 million deal. Now, he will face the team he debuted with back in 2015.

Schmidt is expected to make the start in the series finale. The righty is 0-1 with a 4.79 so far this season in nearly 21 innings pitched. In four starts against the A's in his career, he's 3-1, but holds a 5.14 ERA with a 1.429 WHIP across 21 innings of work.

The Yankees are certainly one of the best teams in baseball, and for the A's, this will be a measuring stick series. How well can they do against teams like the Yankees? That could very well what ends up determining what kind of a season the club has in 2025.