Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Oakland Athletics 4/21

Tonight the New York Yankees and the Oakland Athletics will make the trip to the Bronx one last time as these two teams finish off their three game set inside Yankee Stadium this week. The first game went to extra innings with the Yankees losing a heartbreaker while the second game was a tough one for both sides. Who will win tonight and take the series and who will head into their next series with a little bit of momentum? We’ll have to stay tuned and watch to find out as the Yankees send Luis Severino to the mound tonight to face off against a former Yankee in Rich Hill for the Athletics.

Severino has not had the start to the 2016 season that he or his Yankees teammates would have hoped for. Severino is slated to make his 14^th MLB start tonight at just 22-years old and will look to lower his ERA and 15.2 H/9 IP ratios specifically tonight in the Bronx. This is why small sample sizes are bad to use as indicators for future performance, Severino’s H/9 ratio last season was just 7.7.

 Hill heads into tonight’s start with two loses already on his record despite pitching well in his starts for the most part. In Hill’s last start against the Kansas City Royals the right-hander allowed three runs on nine hits in just 4.1 innings in the loss and has yet to go over five innings more than once this season. This is the game the Yankees must win.

The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV. The Yankees need this win in the worst way. You can’t win a division or clinch a playoff spot in April but you sure can lose one by losing games like this that you should be winning. Severino needs to turn things around and Hill is an average, at best, starter. Don’t fall for the trap game, just win. Go Yankees.