It's the obligatory Haren-Lowry matchup tonight in Oakland, as the A's dabble in interleague play for the first time this season. Haren's well-chronicled 11:7 HRs-to-BBs ratio makes for an intriguing match-up with the oft-walked, Ruth-chasing Barry Bonds. Though it is currently not raining, the air is heavy and the fog thick, so fly balls will probably not carry well--as is often the case in night games, but perhaps even more pronouncedly so tonight. I'm calling one warning track fly ball, one walk, and one ground out to short right-field, among Bonds' ABs tonight.
Also intriguing is Mark Ellis' spot in the batting order tonight: #3. Before you stick pins in your Ken Macha doll, remember that in 2005, Ellis had a .912 OPS against LHP, and he is 16/37 (.432) in the recent resurgence that has brought his average up from below the Mendoza line to its current .260 (the Kendall line?).
The lineups:
Winn
Visquel
Finley
Bonds
Feliz
Durham
Sweeney
Matheny
Vizcaino
Kendall
Kotsay
Ellis
Chavez
Thomas
Crosby
Swisher
Kielty
Payton
UPDATE: THE STARTING TIME HAS BEEN PUSHED BACK TO 7:35PM
