Yankees 4 - 5 Athletics
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Yanks turn to CC hoping to avoid 4-game sweep vs. A's

Jul 22, 2012 - 1:06 PM

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(Sports Network) - Yankees ace CC Sabathia will try to win his fourth consecutive decision on Sunday afternoon as New York hopes to avoid a four-game series sweep at the hands of the Oakland Athletics.

It has been much of the same for Sabathia, one of the most consistent pitchers in the last decade, as he boasts a 10-3 record, a 3.27 ERA and has 111 strikeouts in 113 innings pitched.

After missing a few starts due to a groin strain, the southpaw returned strong on July 17, pitching six scoreless innings while allowing four hits, one walk and striking out six in a 6-1 win over Toronto.

"It was tough sitting here and watching your teammates go out and battle everyday," Sabathia said of his three-week DL stint. "It feels good to come back and be a part of it."

For all of Sabathia's successes over the years, he has been fairly pedestrian against Oakland, going 8-8 in 23 career starts with a 4.84 ERA.

The Athletics will answer with a veteran of their own in 39-year-old Bartolo Colon. He has been a great source of stability in the rotation, boasting a 3.88 ERA over 18 starts, though he has just a 6-8 record to show for it.

The right-hander battled through seven innings his last time out on July 17, allowing eight hits and four earned runs, but he was eventually saddled with the loss.

Colon, who spent the 2011 season as a member of the Yankees, has barely had any success against the his former club in his career, going 4-6 in 13 starts with a bloated 6.30 ERA.

The Athletics won their fourth game in a row on Saturday night after downing the Yankees, 2-1, and are now a major-league best 13-2 in July.

Oakland was lifted to victory by a pair of home runs from Yoenis Cespedes and Brandon Inge. The homer for Cespedes extended his hitting streak to nine game.

Jarrod Parker (7-4) was spectacular in the win, pitching eight strong innings and allowing just five hits, one walk, and one earned run while striking out four.

Sean Doolittle struck out the side in the ninth innings for his first career save.

Philip Hughes (9-8) was the hard-luck loser for the Yankees, allowing two earned runs of 7 2/3 innings while striking out six.

Raul Ibanez knocked in the only run for the Yankees on the night when he singled in Alex Rodriguez in the top of the fourth.

Robinson Cano went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts to end his career-best hitting streak at 23 straight games. He hit .400 over the streak, which was the longest for a Yankee since Derek Jeter's 25-game streak in 2006.

The Athletics were swept by New York in three games from May 25-27, but have now secured their first series win over the club at home since 2007.






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