Yankees 4, Athletics 2: New York Sweeps Oakland

The 2011 season has thus far been a rough one for Nick Swisher, who is dragging around a .215 batting average. Wednesday, however, was a good day for the New York Yankees right fielder. Swisher hit a three-run home run in the fourth inning to give the Yankees their margin of victory in a 4-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics, allowing the Yankees to sweep a three-game series.

A.J. Burnett (6-3) gave up a two-run homer to Josh Willingham in the first inning, but was otherwise strong for New York. He allowed three hits, walked three and struck out five, and also pitched seven innings for the first time since May 11. The right-hander hadn't lasted more than 6 1/3 in any of his previous three starts.

Alex Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with an RBI double for New York, which recorded its first three-game sweep of the season and has won a season-high four in a row overall.

When Swisher homered in the fourth inning he had twice been given the bunt sign by Yankee manager Joe Girardi, but Oakland starter Gio Gonzalez missed the strike zone both times. On the third pitch Swisher swung and ripped a ball into the left field seats for his fourth home run.

Bartolo Colon Surgery 'The Tip Of The Iceberg'

New York Yankees May 'Kudos & Wet Willies'

Yankees At Athletics: New York Goes For Sweep This Afternoon

(Sports Network) - The New York Yankees have catapulted their way to the top of the American League East Division and look to stay there when they shoot for a three-game sweep of the Oakland Athletics today at the Coliseum.

The Yankees are hoping streaky right-hander A.J. Burnett can pull another solid outing from his sleeve when he takes the mound today. Burnett is 1-0 in his last two starts since going 0-2 in three trips to the hill, and last pitched in Friday's 4-3 loss at Seattle. He allowed two runs in five innings with six K's and a season high-tying five walks for a no-decision.

Burnett, who went 1-2 with a 4.06 ERA in May, is 5-3 with a 3.99 ERA in 11 starts this season. He is still searching for his first road win of the season as evidenced by his 0-2 mark in four games outside of the Bronx. He has faced the A's nine times -- all starts -- in his career and is 4-3 with a 3.88 ERA.

Oakland will try to salvage the finale of this set after winning four in a row before the Yankees invaded the Coliseum.

Yankees 10, Athletics 3: Curtis Granderson Leads Offensive Explosion

For the second straight night the New York Yankees home run happy offense was too much for the Oakland Athletics stingy pitching staff. The Yankees hit two home runs and banged out 12 base hits Tuesday en route to a lopsided 10-3 victory over the Athletics.

Curtis Granderson hit a two-run home run as part of a three-hit, four-RBI game, Derek Jeter had two hits and scored three times, Alex Rodriguez finished with three hits and three RBI and Robinson Cano clubbed a two-run homer. Freddy Garcia (4-4) was the benefactor of all of that offensen, giving up three runs on nine hits with five strikeouts and two walks over seven innings for the Yankees, who have won three straight.

"We have a good lineup," New York manager Joe Girardi said. "We have a deep lineup and we have patient hitters that know how to work the count and foul pitches off. When guys make some mistakes, they get to them."

Brett Anderson (3-5) had by far his worst outing of the season for Oaklandn, allowing 10 runs on 11 hits and three walks over 5 1/3 innings.

The Yankees (30-23) are now a game ahead of Boston and 1.5 games ahead of Tampa Bay in the American League East.

-- Sports Network contributed to this report

A-Rod, Jeter, Joba Among Most Overrated, Say Players

Yankee Stadium, Citi Field Not Ranked Among MLB's Best Stadiums

Yankees At Athletics: Notes While Waiting For Game 2

The New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics continue their three-game series in Oakland this evening (10:05 p.m., YES). Freddy Garcia (3-4, 3.26 ERA) will pitch for New York and Brett Anderson (3-4, 2.84) will pitch for Oakland.

While you wait for first pitch Yankees fans, here are some links to keep you busy.

Bartolo Colon's Doughnut - Baseball Analytics Blog - MLB Baseball Analytics
Bartolo Colon of the Yankees pitched his first shutout since 2006 on Monday against the Athletics. Colon allowed just four hits and did not walk a batter. His kept his approach simple, throw his fastball and keep it away from batters. Eighty six of his 103 pitches came in as fastballs, varying in speed between 89 and 94 miles per hour. His location really did the trick, however.

What they're saying: Bartolo Colon | New York Daily News
More Teixeira: "He's really exceeding our expectations and he's been huge for us. If we didn't have him in our rotation, we'd be scrambling right now because this league is so tough, our division is so tough. Every night, we have to bring our A game."

Martin scratched from lineup with sore toe | yankees.com: News
Yankees catcher Russell Martin was scratched from Monday's 5-0 victory against the Athletics with soreness in his big left toe. Martin fouled a ball off his foot in Saturday's extra-inning loss to the Mariners at Safeco Field and did not play on Sunday, given the day game after a night game off.

Jones showing his value | The Lohud Yankees Blog
Two games said a lot about sample size and the potential impact of Andruw Jones.

One week ago, Jones’ job seemed to be in danger. If not in danger, certainly in question. He’d been brought to New York to hit against lefties, and he wasn’t hitting against anyone. He had only 50 plate appearances, but the early results were enough to wonder if Justin Maxwell might be a better right-handed outfield option.

Then Jones went 3-for-3 with two home runs on Wednesday. In his next start, he was 1-for-4 with a key three-run double on Sunday. Jones is hitting .268/.318/.610 against left-handers, which is exactly what he was brought here to do.

Yankees 5, Athletics 0: Bartolo Colon Pitches Shutout

If Bartolo Colon keeps this up, the doctors who have seemingly rescued Colon's career with the controversial stem cell surgery they performed on his ailing shoulder and elbow are going to become very rich men. Colon, out of baseball since the middle of 2009, continued an unlikely and amazing resurgence Monday afternoon by spinning a complete-game, four-hit shutout as the New York Yankees defeated the Oakland Athletics, 5-0, at Oakland Alameda County Coliseum.

This was Colon's first first complete game since 2006. Colon, 37, struck out six without walking a batter, improving to 3-3 on the season.

The Yankees jumped on Oakland starter Trevor Cahill (6-3) for three first-inning runs. Mark Teixeira hit a two-run home run and Robinson Cano doubled in the third run.

Derek Jeter led off the game with a single, his 2,981st career hit and scored on Teixeira's homer. Jeter later drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.

Yankees At Athletics: Power Meets Pitching

The New York Yankees move to the second leg of their nine-game West Coast trip Monday afternoon when they open a three-game series against the Oakland Athletics. The Yankees lost two of three to Seattle to begin the trip, while Oakland has won four straight and just swept the Baltimore Orioles.

Bartolo Colon pitches today for the Yankees against Trevor Cahill (6-2, 2.02 ERA) of Oakland. Game time is 4:05 p.m.

Oakland is anchored by its pitching staff, which is young but sports the best ERA in baseball at 2.84. In Oaklnd's last 12 games the staff's ERA is 2.06. The Yankees lead the majors with 79 home runs, so this should be an interesting match-up.