Well, that was an interesting week of baseball on and off the diamond for the A’s and their fans. The A’s lost two of three to the Astros and were shut out by the Kansas City Royals the day after trading the biggest name in their lineup. The A’s bounced back on Saturday but fell again on Sunday, losing their second series in a row. The A’s are holding on to a one game lead over the Angels in the AL West..
Next up for the A’s will be the 54-57 Tampa Bay Rays, who traded away David Price at the deadline and have waived the white flag on the 2014 season. The Rays are coming off of a home series against the Angels in which they lost two of three. Oakland also took two of three from the Rays in Tampa back in May and that is essentially the A’s goal the rest of the way - continue to win series and get ready for playoff baseball. Here are the expected pitching match-ups for the series:
- Monday, 8/4, 7:05pm, Alex Cobb (7-6) vs. Jeff Samardzija (2-1)
- Tuesday, 8/5, 7:05pm, Drew Smyly (6-9) vs. Jason Hammel (0-4)
- Wednesday, 8/6, 12:35pm, Jeremy Hellickson (0-1) vs. Sonny Gray (12-4)
Predictions: Samardzija and Gray have been nothing short of phenomenal in recent weeks. Jason Hammel has been the complete opposite for the A’s. At the very least, the A’s must take two of three from the Rays.
There are no off days this week for the club who will return to the O.co field on Thursday to commence a four game series against the Twins. The A’s swept the Twins in Minnesota back in April and will look to do the same at home. The Twins enter the week with a 50-60 record and find themselves in last place of the AL Central. Joe Mauer was placed on the DL this week and will miss at least the next two weeks.
Here are the expected pitching match-ups for the four game series, highlighted with Thursday’s game that will have the A’s new ace, Jon Lester, face off against former Athletic Tommy Milone:
- Thursday, 8/7, 7:05pm, Tommy Milone (6-3) vs. Jon Lester (11-7)
- Friday, 8/8, 7:05pm, Yohan Pino (1-3) vs. Scott Kazmir (12-4)
- Saturday, 8/9, 6:05pm, Kyle Gibson (9-8) vs. Jeff Samardzija (2-1)
- Sunday, 8/10, 1:05pm, Phil Hughes (10-8) vs. Jason Hammel (0-4)
Predictions: Jason Hammel finally gets his first victory of the season as a member of the A’s and Oakland takes three of four from the Twins before heading out on the road.
Who’s Hot?
Since returning from the DL, Josh Reddick is red hot at the plate. He’s 12 for his last 29 over the past week and a half, good for a .414 batting average. The A’s have won four of Jeff Samarzija’s five starts with the club. He has struck out 27 batters in the process, while only walking 4. Finally, while he took the loss in a 1-0 decision on Friday, Sonny Gray remains one of the best pitchers in MLB this season with a 12-4 record and a 2.59 ERA.
Who’s Not?
Production from 2B has been an issue for the A’s all season and it isn’t getting any better. Eric Sogard continues to struggle to do anything positive on the offensive side of the ball, with his batting average dipping below .200 on the season. Platoon utility men Nick Punto and Alberto Callaspo are also struggling at the plate. Since his return from injury, Callaspo has collected only four hits in nineteen plate appearances. He was 0-4 in Friday’s game, unable to come up with a timely hit and RBI on multiple occasions (where the A’s lost 1-0). Punto was struggling at the plate and then injured his hamstring rounding third base on Saturday and was promptly placed on the DL on Sunday.
Jason Hammel remains the one question mark in the A’s starting rotation. The club has bumped Jesse Chavez to maintain a five man rotation and to, assumedly, save Chavez’s arm a bit given he has blown past his career high in innings pitched in a season. Hammel is 0-4 with the A’s and has an ERA of 9.53.
A’s Roster Movement
You may have heard about the A’s acquisitions at the trade deadline a few times by now. With the acquisition of Jon Lester, Jonny Gomes, and Sam Fuld, the A’s have also had to make several roster moves in the past week.
The team placed Craig Gentry on the 15 day DL and called up OF Billy Burns. However, Burns’ stay in the majors didn’t last long as he was optioned back to the minors to make room for the A’s deadline acquisitions.
Nate Freiman was optioned to Sacramento when the team reinstated Alberto Callaspo. However, with the aforementioned injury to Nick Punto, Freiman was called back up the major league roster on Sunday.