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Rasner, Duchscherer square off when Athletics host Yankees

Jun 11, 2008 - 12:55 PM NY Yankees (33-32) at Oakland (34-30) 10:05 p.m. EDT

OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- A pair of surprising starters square off when the New York Yankees visit the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday.

An afterthought amongst a slew of promising young Yankees pitchers at the beginning of the season, Darrell Rasner has unquestionably been the strongest of those enjoying their first extended look in the the club's rotation this season.

While Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy have been injured and ineffective - and Joba Chamberlain yet to complete even five innings - Rasner (3-3, 2.58 ERA) has helped stabilize the rotation by allowing two runs or less in five of his six starts since being recalled from the minors on May 4.

Unfortunately for the 27-year-old righthander, the New York bats have not been cooperating during his starts lately, scoring a total of three runs while Rasner has posted three consecutive losses. He lasted a season-high eight innings against Kansas City on Friday, allowing two runs and nine hits, but took the loss in a 2-1 setback.

Oakland's Justin Duchscherer (5-4, 2.32) was an All-Star two seasons ago as a reliever but had not made a start since 2003 when the club decided to convert him to the rotation in spring training. The righthander has been one of the most consistent members of the staff all season and would be leading the American League in ERA if he hadn't spent three weeks on the disabled list in April.

Duchscherer has allowed two earned runs or less in eight of his nine starts this season, allowing three in the other. He picked up a victory against Detroit on June 4, allowing two runs and three hits in 6 2/3 frames.

The Yankees took the series opener on Tuesday, 3-2, as Chien-Ming Wang earned his first win since May 2.