The A's and Simmerin' Joe Blanton with a 5-8 record and a 4.68 ERA take on the Indians and Jake Westbrook with a 7-12 record and a 4.51 ERA.
The good news? The Angels and Twins are losing. Matt Clement of the Red Sox also took a line drive off his head, which looked absolutely horrific. Rivalries aside, I hope he's all right.
As for the A's-Indians game, the A's have already won more games in July (16) than they did all of last July (15). The A's are also looking for their second eight-game winning streak of the season by winning tonight. The A's have only had two eight-game winning streaks in a season three times in Oakland history: 2001, 2002 and 2004. They could make 2005 the fourth tonight.
What could prevent this? Well, Blanton has been closer to May than his June numbers since the All Star break. He's 0-1 with a 6.97 ERA. Of course, it was taking on Texas, but that's still too much. Hopefully he starts pounding the zone again.
The A's lineup looks like this:
Kendall
Ellis
Crosby
Chavez
Hatteberg
Kielty
Johnson
Payton
Swisher
Kotsay's back must still be bothering him. I also think that the break is good for him. Let's just hope the A's continue to generate offense without him.
The Tribe counters with this group:
Sizemore
Crisp
Peralta
Martinez
Broussard
Belliard
Boone
Liefer
Blake
Travis Hafner was placed on the DL today, which means that the A's will luck out in missing one of the Indians best hitters.
LET'S GO A'S!!!!!!!
