Familiar Faces Have Chance to Tame Yankees in Oakland
OAKLAND — While Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino have been busy attempting to earn their pinstripes, ex-Yankees starter JP Sears has quietly shoved as the newest member of the Athletics' starting staff.
Sears was one of four prospects that the Yankees dumped in order to acquire Montas and Trivino ahead of this month's trade deadline. Oakland also received left-hander Ken Waldichuk, right-hander Luis Medina and infielder Cooper Bowman in the six-player swap.
Over his first three starts with Oakland, Sears has allowed just three earned runs to score in 15.1 innings. That's good for a 1.76 ERA and a 2-0 record. He's struck out eight batters in that span as well, allowing 13 hits while walking four.
Sears made the Yankees' Opening Day roster this April, pitching sporadically in pinstripes as he rode the Scranton shuttle back and forth from Triple-A. In seven games with New York before the trade to Oakland, Sears posted a 2.05 ERA, allowing five runs in 22 frames. He didn't give up a run until his fifth outing, recording the win in both of his two starts.
Now, the former Yankee has a chance to shut down his old club. The 26-year-old is scheduled to face the Yankees on Friday, the second game of New York's West Coast road trip.
Before Sears gets a crack against the team that he debuted with earlier this year, another former Yankee will have a chance to best his old club.
James Kaprielian, an ex-Yankees prospect that was dealt to Oakland in the Sonny Gray trade back in 2017, is scheduled to toe the rubber in the series opener on Thursday night at RingCentral Coliseum.
Kaprielian was New York's No. 6 prospect in 2017 before the Gray trade. He's posted a 4.23 ERA over 46 appearances with Oakland over the last three seasons, making 20 starts in the Athletics' rotation this year.
Thursday night will be Kaprielian's third start against the Yankees. He allowed six runs in five innings last August in Oakland against them, earning the win at Yankee Stadium on June 18.
The Yankees, meanwhile, enter this series on a three-game winning streak. They'll look to continue building on that momentum, distancing themselves from a horrid stretch where New York saw their lead in the American League East dwindle down to as little as seven games.
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