The A's and Not-So-Smokin' Joe Blanton with a 1-2 record and a 6.87 ERA take on the heavy-hitting Rangers and Kevin Millwood with a 1-2 record and a 5.04 ERA.
The A's once again get dealt an unfortunate bit of luck in running into Texas's three best pitchers, Millwood, Padilla and Loe. The Rangers are now nestled in first place with La Verne Angels of Brea. The Rangers offense has been performing as expected, scoring 103 runs, the most in the AL West and fifth most in the American League. The A's offense, well I'm not going to beat the dead horse because frankly it's starting to stink, but only the Royals have scored fewer runs than the A's.
Perhaps a visit to Arlington and that tiny little playground can awaken the offense. The only problem is that the starting pitching always gets worn thin down there.
The A's lineup has a better look to it tonight, albeit without Bobby Crosby in the lineup:
Kotsay
Swisher
Chavez
Thomas
Bradley
Ellis
Kendall
Johnson
Perez
Obviously the big problem with this lineup is the bottom four. A look at their OBP reveals .219, .345, .200 and .167. That could be a lot of quick and easy outs for Kevin Millwood. The good news is that Millwood is 0-2 with a 7.36 ERA at home. The bad news? Joe Blanton has given up 15 runs, 14 earned in his last two starts.
LET'S GO OAK-LAND!!!!!!!
