After taking two of three from the Astros and Rangers this past week, the best team in baseball looks to continue its winning ways the state of Texas before returning home later this week to start a ten game home stand. The Oakland A’s have hit a favorable part of their schedule that lasts until the middle of August. With both sides of the diamond clicking for the A’s - top 10 in MLB in Runs, OBP, and Slugging percentage offensively in addition to being in the top 3 in ERA, WHIP, and BAA on the mound - the team will look to create a little bit more distance between themselves and the surprising Los Angeles Angels. The Angles have the second best record in MLB and are only two games behind Oakland in the standings.
First up this week for the A’s is another meeting with the Houston Astros. After dropping the series opener to the Astros this past week, the A’s went out and scored 22 runs in the two remaining games of the series to dominate their way to a series win. Overall, the A’s have won seven of ten this season against the Astros and will look to, once again, win the series at the very least in Houston. Here are the expected pitching match-ups:
Monday, 7/28 @ Houston, 5:10 PM, Jesse Chavez (8-6) vs. Brad Peacock (3-7)
Tuesday, 7/29 @ Houston, 5:10 PM, Jeff Samardzija (2-1) vs. Scott Feldman (4-8)
Wednesday, 7/30 @ Houston, 11:10 AM, Jason Hammel (0-3) vs. Dallas Keuchel (9-7)
Predictions: This would be a good time for the A’s to start putting some more distance between themselves and the Angels. That should be enough to keep the team fired up to close out the short road trip in Texas. An A’s sweep is forthcoming.
After a day off on Thursday, the A’s return to Oakland for a ten game homestand that starts off with the Kansas City Royals. This will be the first time the teams have met this season. The Royals are currently 53-51 on the season having won five of their last six games. They are 5 games behind the AL Central leading Detroit Tigers. Offensively, the Royals are ranked in the bottom half of the league in Runs, OBP, and Slugging Percentage. Their pitching staff is leading the way to their +.500 record, led by James Shields and Jason Vargas. The A’s will be avoiding Vargas in this week’s series however and have favorable match-ups Friday and Saturday before facing Shields to close out the weekend. Here are the expected pitching match-ups for the weekend series:
Friday, 8/1 vs. KC, 6:35 PM, Jeremy Guthrie (6-9) vs. Sonny Gray (12-3)
Saturday, 8/2 vs. KC, 1:05 PM, Bruce Chen (2-3) vs. Scott Kazmir (12-3)
Sunday, 8/3 vs. KC, 1:05 PM, James Shields (9-5) vs. Jesse Chavez (8-6)
Predictions: Gray and Kazmir have their own little internal competition for who can finish with the best record on the club. Look for both to notch their 12th win on the season, giving the A’s the series advantage and win.
Who’s Hot?
After struggling going into the All-Star break, Jed Lowrie has turned things around and is hitting well over .300 in the past week+. Lowrie hit his first home run since June 1st in the Astros series and will need to be a contributing part of the A’s offense if he wants to earn that forthcoming pay raise he will be seeking this offseason. John Jaso is hitting over .400 in the past week and is well over .300 for the entire month of July. Yoenis Cespedes also continues his hot bat since the All-Star break.
As mentioned above in the KC series preview predictions, Sonny Gray and Scott Kazmir are leading the way on the A’s rotation. The A’s haven’t lost when Gray has taken the mound since 6/13 against the New York Yankees. Gray has six wins and one no decision since that start. Not to be outdone, Kazmir continues to lower his ERA and is currently second in the AL behind Felix Hernandez with a 2.37 ERA.
Who’s Not?
Since being acquired by the A’s, Jason Hammel is 0-3 with a 7.11 ERA. Hammel has not been able to get through the sixth inning in any of his starts, leaving a little to be desired from fans - particularly with Tommy Milone waiting in the wings to reclaim a spot in the rotation and requesting a trade.
A’s Roster Movement
Josh Reddick (and “Careless Whisper”) returned to the A’s lineup this past week, sending Andy Parrino back to the minors for the time being.
The bigger news, however, came on Thursday when the team finally decided to cut ties with RP Jim Johnson. Johnson had an awful stint in Oakland, particularly in front of his own fans at O.co - to the tune of a 12.86 ERA when pitching in Oakland. He was replaced on the active roster by RP Evan Scribner, who rejoins the A’s once again from the minors.