The team with the best record in all of MLB continues to be the Oakland Athletics. The A’s are now 21 games over .500 with a 51-30 record, 5 games ahead of the second-place Tigers in the American League (pending results from Detrioit’s Sunday matchup). This week the A’s continue to travel up and down the eastern half of the US, traveling back north to take on the Tigers for three games in Detroit before returning home for four games against the AL East leading, Toronto Blue Jays.
Despite a team batting average of .254 (thanks in part to their home stadium), the A’s offense is ranked #1 in runs and on-base percentage. The team’s run differential is almost 100 runs higher than the closest competitor. Not to be outdone, the A’s pitching staff is among the top five in each of the following categories: ERA, WHIP, BAA, and in Quality Starts. That balance has led to the overall strength of the A’s and rising expectations among their fanbase.
The A’s and Tigers split a four game series at the end of May in Oakland. In that series, the two teams traded blows back and forth, vastly similar to their playoff matches in recent seasons. Now the teams are looking at one another for American League supremacy, at least in terms of the regular season standings.
The Tigers offense continues to be the driving force behind the team’s success. The struggles of the Tigers pitching staff are the thorn in their side almost halfway through the season. Despite those struggles, the team leads the AL Central by 4.5 games over the Kansas City Royals.
Here are the expected pitching match-ups for the series:
Monday, 6/30 @ Detroit, 4:08pm, Scott Kazmir (9-3) vs. Anibal Sanchez (5-2)
Tuesday, 7/1 @ Detroit, 4:08pm, Brad Mills (1-0) vs. Rick Porcello (10-4)
Wednesday, 7/2 @ Detroit, 10:08am, Jesse Chavez (6-4) vs. Justin Verlander (6-7)
Predictions: The A’s are playing motivated baseball right now and fans should expect them to carry the emotion over to the Detroit series. Adrenaline on facing the team that has knocked them out of the playoffs the past two seasons is enough to push them to win the series, taking two of three to close the road trip.
The A’s will then travel immediately back home to start a four game series against the AL East leading Blue Jays. The Jays will also be heading west Wednesday night as they wrap up a two game series in Milwaukee. Toronto swept a three game series against the A’s at home back at the end of May, so the A’s will look to exact retribution on the Jays in order to even the head-to-head matchup for potential playoff implications.
Here are the scheduled pitching matchups for the four game, holiday weekend series:
Thursday, 7/3 vs. Toronto, 6:05pm, RA Dickey (6-7) vs. Sonny Gray (7-3)
Friday, 7/4 vs. Toronto, 1:05pm, Marcus Stroman (4-2) vs. Tommy Milone (5-3)
Saturday, 7/5 vs. Toronto, 7:05pm, Mark Beuhrle (10-4) vs. Scott Kazmir (9-3)
Sunday, 7/6 vs. Toronto, 1:05pm, Drew Hutchison (5-6) vs. Brad Mills (1-0)
Predictions: Look for the A’s to celebrate with their own fireworks and take three of four against the Blue Jays, further widening their lead in the American League.
Who’s Hot?
Yoenis Cespedes and Coco Crisp are leading the offensive charge the A’s right now. Both players enjoy the spotlight and started their week off well in NY against the Mets and that success carried over into the weekend series with the Marlins. Despite a slow June overall, Brandon Moss also hit over .300 over the past week and looks to have turned the corner.
Sean Doolittle’s scoreless inning streak ended on Saturday when he gave up his first run since April 26th. Despite that performance, Doolittle remains rock solid as the A’s closer. Dan Otero has also been very strong in relief in June, posting an ERA well under 2.00 for the month.
Who’s Not?
Despite having the game winning hit on Saturday in the 14th inning, Josh Donaldson finished the game 2-7 and is hitting just over .200 for the past week. Jed Lowrie continues to struggle in the month of June, hitting well under .200 for the month with only 1 home-run.
A’s Roster Movement
Josh Reddick returned from the DL, in time for the A’s to place Kyle Blanks on the 15-day DL with a calf strain. The injury to Blanks prolongs a forthcoming decision on who to remove from the roster, likely one of the RP’s that have been struggling throughout the season (Jim Johnson, or more likely, Jeff Francis). However, almost immediately upon his return, Reddick re-injured himself in Saturday’s game in Miami and was placed back on IR. The A’s recalled Nate Freiman from the minors.
Reddick voiced his frustrations on the injury saying, “It’s a huge letdown after starting off so slow early in the year.”