New York Yankees vs. Oakland Athletics: JP Sears vs. Frankie Montas

After a nice come-from-behind win yesterday, the Yankees will aim to take the series from the Oakland Athletics today. JP Sears will make the spot start in his first MLB appearance since May 25th, when he pitched a solid five scoreless innings against the Baltimore Orioles. He’s been a viable option for when the Yankees have needed a sixth starter, and hopefully he proves that again today.

Oakland will counter with Frankie Montas, whose strong season means that he’s widely considered a trade candidate for next month. He threw eight shutout innings in his last start against the Seattle Mariners, but the bullpen absolutely imploded in the ninth (allowing two runs on wild pitches) to allow Seattle to win. He has a solid 3.21 ERA.

Anthony Rizzo is in the New York lineup and playing first base a day after being removed following a pitch off the elbow. Isiah Kiner-Falefa also makes his return to shortstop after suffering a bruised finger on a bunt during Sunday’s game. Aaron Hicks is playing center field while Aaron Judge is the DH. Marwin Gonzalez will patrol left field as Joey Gallo takes right, while Josh Donaldson and DJ LeMahieu round out the infield at third and second base. Jose Trevino is catching (and batting fifth!). Gleyber Torres remains on the bench nursing a wrist injury and with Sears starting, Manny Bañuelos has been designated for assignment.

Oakland is running out a somewhat similar group to yesterday’s, with Stephen Piscotty swapped in as the DH, Chad Pinder in left, and Nick Allen at second base. Sean Murphy is right back in there a day after two errors on catcher’s interference contributed to the Yankees’ huge seventh inning.

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium — Bronx, NY

First pitch: 7:05 pm ET

TV broadcast: YES, NBC Sports California

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9, WADO 1380, KNEW 960

Online stream: MLB.tv

For updates, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.