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Athletics, Yankees close series in Oakland

Jun 15, 2014 - 2:04 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - A rubber match is set for Sunday afternoon at the Coliseum as the Oakland Athletics take on the New York Yankees.

Vidal Nuno will make his 11th start of the season for the Yankees, as he attempts to improve upon his 1-2 record and 4.97 ERA.

Nuno had one of his most effective outings of the season on June 10, allowing just one earned run over 5 2/3 innings of work in a no-decision at Seattle.

The second-year southpaw made a start against Oakland on June 4 and failed to make it out of the fifth inning after giving up six hits, a walk and two earned runs.

Jesse Chavez will take the mound for Oakland. The journeyman had made just two starts in six seasons prior to this year but has been a welcomed addition to the A's staff in 2014, going 5-4 with a 3.04 ERA.

Chavez has come back down to earth in recent weeks with losses in three of his last four starts, including on June 9 against the Angels when he surrendered eight hits and three runs (two earned) over six innings of work.

"I thought Jesse threw well," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. "You give up three runs to (the Angels) ... he did his job. We just didn't do enough offensively."

The 30-year-old right-hander defeated Nuno head-to-head on June 4, escaping with the win despite giving up four earned runs in six innings.

The Athletics couldn't be slowed by a brief light outage delay in the fourth inning on Saturday night, as they went on to even the series by capturing a 5-1 victory, thus snapping the Yankees' four-game winning streak.

Eric Sogard delivered a two-run single in second inning, while John Jaso and Andy Parrino also contribute an RBI apiece.

Scott Kazmir (8-2) continued his fantastic season by allowing just one unearned run over six innings of work on three hits and three walks, lowering his ERA in the process to 2.05.

Hiroki Kuroda (4-5) was saddled with the loss after yielding five hits, three walks and four earned runs in 4 2/3 innings.

The Yankees tallied just three hits on the evening, with their only run coming on an error in the third inning.

Yankees slugger Mark Teixeira was scratched from Saturday's lineup because of left rib cage tightness. He could play in Sunday's finale against the A's.