The New York Yankees are set to host the Oakland Athletics this Friday, Saturday and Sunday in what will be a matchup between two of the American League’s best teams.

At the time of this writing, the Yankees sit at 15-10, three games behind the Red Sox for first place in the American League East. The Athletics are 14-12, 2.5 games behind the Rangers for first place in the American League West. The two teams could very well wind up squaring off for a Wild Card spot come this post-season.

The Yankees are 9-5 at home and just 6-5 on the road, and in general they have been lead this year by Andy Pettitte and Hiroki Kuroda. Pettitte is 3-1 with a 2.22 earned runs average and his opponents are hitting only .248. Kuroda is 3-1 with a 2.79 earned runs average as well.

When it comes to the lineup, Robinson Cano is carrying the day with a team-best .316 average, seven home runs and 17 runs driven in.

The Athletics are led by a much more lackluster rotation, with their bullpen impressing. Jerry Blevins is 1-0 with a 1.84 earned runs average, Sean Doolittle’s record is 1-0 with a 1.86 earned runs average and Ryan Cook is also at 1-0 with a 2.25 earned runs average.

Their hitting in particular is impressive though, when you consider that Jed Lowrie is hitting 3.44 with 14 runs driven in and three home runs. In addition, Seth Smith and Josh Donaldson are both hitting .319, while Coco Crisp is hitting .290 and has five home runs and 12 runs driven in.

The Athletics have gone just 7-7 at home and have actually performed a bit better on the road at 7-5, which is a rarity these days in major league baseball.  Nobody else has repeated that feat so far this year, while a few teams have come close the other way.

Only the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs are also better on the road than at home this year.  So don’t miss out when these two powerhouses go at it in the Bronx, NY.