Athletics vs. Yankees Series Preview

Big weekend series against the Evil Empire

It’s time to get back to baseball. The A’s are gearing up for a weekend series against the New York Yankees, preparing to take on their East Coast foes for the first time in 2025 in what will be an important series for both of these teams. These two squads always have intense battles and we can expect more of the same this weekend with how well both teams are playing as we begin the weekend.

New York enters this series with a 21-16 record which is good enough for first place in the always highly-contested AL East. They’ve won their past two games entering this series and they’re second in all of baseball with a +51 run differential so far as they look to make it back to the World Series for the second year in a row. Their squad has been led by a lineup that has been the best in the league despite losing superstar slugger Juan Soto this past offseason. The Bronx Bombers are first in home runs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS so far, living up to the high expectations they’ve set for themselves. Outfielder Aaron Judge has led the offense as he’s having yet another MVP-worthy season and posting historic numbers. It hasn’t been a one-man show for the Yankees as Trent Grisham, Ben Rice and Paul Goldschmidt have also had quality seasons to date to support Judge. They’ve been disappointed by slow starts from Jazz Chisholm and Cody Bellinger but even those two have had decent starts and with their track record they can’t be an afterthought for any Athletics pitchers this series.

Their pitching on the other hand has been a major let down after multiple injuries and subpar results. The club lost ace righty Gerrit Cole for the season due to Tommy John surgery before the season even began. They also lost 2024 AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil before Opening Day though he’ll be able to return later this year. Fortunately for them offseason addition Max Fried has been even better than advertised as he has a miniscule 1.05 ERA that leads all of baseball. Fellow lefty Carlos Rodon has also been earning his big contract this year by posting a 2.96 mark through eight starts. The A’s will get a little lucky as they’ll miss Fried but still have to go up against Rodon. The rest of New York’s starting staff hasn’t pulled their weight as Carlos Carrasco, Will Warren, and Clarke Schmidt have all been letdowns for the middle and backhalf of the starting rotation, with Carrasco even getting DFA’d before this series.

Kicking off the series tonight will be Osvaldo Bido. The right-hander will be making his eighth start of the season when he takes the mound and he’ll take a 4.71 ERA into the contest. That ERA is skewed by one disaster outing but he’s also gotten hit hard in two of his three most recent starts, allowing 13 runs over his last 15 ²⁄₃ frames. Not the way you’d want Bido pitching entering this matchup against a high-powered Yankees lineup. Four of his seven starts have been against the Rockies, Marlins, and White Sox so tonight will be a major test for Bido’s staying power.

New York counters with Will Warren in the first game of the weekend, sending the 27-year-old right-hander to the hill to counter Bido. Warren entered the season as a depth option for New York but injuries to members of the rotation have thrust him into a starting role for the entirety of the season. He hasn’t thrived in the rotation as he’s posted a 5.65 ERA in his first seven starts and is averaging just over four innings a start.

Saturday will be a duel of lefties as JP Sears takes on Carlos Rodon. This will be the best pitching matchup of the series as both pitchers will bring sub-3 ERA’s into this game. Sears has only allowed three runs twice in seven appearances and posting a quality start in all but one of his outings. If he can continue that against the Yankees, the team that traded him to the Athletics way back in

Rodon on the other hand has gotten on a roll after a bit of a tough start to his season. The veteran has a 2.96 ERA but has allowed just two runs over his past four starts, pitching at least six innings in each outing. He’s pitched against the Athletics eight times in his career and has a 2.36 ERA and is 5-1 against the Green & Gold so the A’s will be hoping to buck that trend.

We wrap up the weekend series with a matchup between Luis Severino and a what will likely be Clarke Schmidt, though the Yankees have yet to officially announce their starting pitcher for Sunday’s series finale. Severino will finish the home stand facing the team that he spent eight years with to begin his career. He’s having a quality season so far in his first with the Athletics but he got knocked around a bit in his previous start so the veteran is on the prowl for a bounce back outing. He’ll bring a 3.62 ERA into the finale against his former team.