Oakland Athletics
Shannon Stewart, LF
Mark Ellis, 2B
Nick Swisher, RF
Jack Cust, DH
Dan Johnson, 1B
Eric Chavez, 3B
Bobby Crosby, SS
Mark Kotsay, CF
Jason Kendall, C
Chad Gaudin, RHP (6-3, 3.14)
New York Yankees
Johnny Damon, DH
Derek Jeter, SS
Bobby Abreu, RF
Alex Rodriguez, 3B
Jorge Posada, C
Hideki Matsui, LF
Robinson Cano, 2B
Melky Cabrera, CF
Andy Phillips, 1B
Kei Igawa, LHP (2-1, 7.13)
First off, although Mike Mussina is probably not a favorite among Yankee fans, he has quietly pitched very well over his last 5 starts (2-2, 2.56).
Of course, the problem is that his significant improvement has gone largely unnoticed since the Yanks haven't given him much run support. Moose has also lowered his ERA from 6.25 to 4.43 since his horrific performance at Fenway earlier this month on 6/02.
What does this mean? Probably not a whole lot. Just giving credit when credit is due.
As for today's game, Bobby Abreu is back in the #3 slot while Hideki Matsui returns to the #6 slot.
Kei Igawa gets the start and wasn't too bad in his appearance at Oakland on 4/13 (5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K). At this point, the Yanks would be absolutely thrilled with a repeat performance at the Stadium this afternoon. Don't hold your breath.
The featured graphic for today's game is the official team logo of the Kansas City Athletics from 1963 to 1967.