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Yankees eye another strong second-half surge

Jul 19, 2008 - 6:41 AM Oakland (51-45) at NY Yankees (51-45) 1:05 pm EDT

BRONX, New York (Ticker) -- The New York Yankees have made a habit of using strong second halves in recent years to make up for poor beginnings. They are off to a good start once again in that regard.

The Yankees aim for their sixth straight home win on Saturday when they continue their series with the Oakland Athletics.

While this season remains in question, New York has posted a .618 (370-229) winning percentage in the second half since 2000 while sporting a winning record each year.

Included in that stretch was last season's 51-25 second half, which the Yankees used to overcome a 43-43 start and make the postseason for the 13th straight year. They did their part to start another post-All-Star break run on Friday with a 7-1 win over Oakland.

They now turn to Joba Chamberlain (2-3, 2.62 ERA), who is coming off his first loss in eight turns as a starter since moving to the rotation in June. Chamberlain matched season highs in innings (6 2/3) and strikeouts (nine) but was not given any help by his offense in a 5-0 loss to the Blue Jays on July 11.

The A's will counter with Sean Gallagher (1-0, 2.57), who is coming off a successful American League debut. Three days after coming over from the Chicago Cubs in the Rich Harden trade, the righthander yielded two hits and two runs over seven frames, striking out seven in a 9-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on July 12.