The A's with Barry Zito with an 0-3 record and a 7.27 ERA goes against the Mariners and Joel Pineiro with an 0-1 record and a 7.94 ERA.
I talked with Jeff Sullivan from SportsBlogs site LookoutLanding.com and here is what he had to say about the matchup with Pineiro:
Pineiro, like Zito, can be judged by his curveball - it's a sharp-breaking 12-6 overhand hook that can be devastating when it's working, inducing weak grounders and pop-ups galore while catching a few hitters looking. Where Joel runs into trouble is when he starts getting his curve in the dirt too often, forcing him to rely on a pretty hittable two-pitch arsenal. This is just his second big league start since hurting his elbow last summer, so he could show a lot of inconsistency tonight.
The A's are going with this lineup:
Kotsay
Kendall
Chavez
Durazo
Hatteberg
Ellis
Byrnes
Swisher
Scutaro
Ginter goes to the bench for what I believe is his fourth game in a row. Interesting that what many thought was going to be a middle infield of Ginter and Crosby is rapidly turning into the Ellis/Scutaro show (by injury of course).
The M's send this crew out to face Zito and company:
Suzuki
Winn
Beltre
Sexson
Boone
Ibanez
Bloomquist
Olivo
Valdez
