The A's and Brad Halsey with a 3-3 record and a 4.50 ERA take on the Black and Blue Jays and AJ Burnett with a 5-5 record and a 4.29 ERA.
How do the A's follow up their performance last night? Well, hopefully they won't have to overcome an 8-0 deficit after the first two innings. Halsey is getting another shot at the rotation and I imagine it will be between he and Saarloos as to who will get the next turn in the rotation in the fifth spot. The A's still don't seem sold on Saarloos, especially considering his 11-hits against performance the other night. So if Halsey can pitch well tonight, he should get the next chance at the fifth spot in the rotation.
The A's lineup looks a bit back to normal tonight with Chavez hitting fifth again:
Kendall
Kotsay
Bradley
Thomas
Chavez
Swisher
Payton
Scutaro
Ellis
The A's batters have hardly any ABs against Burnett, who hasn't really lived up to the contract hype of the offseason. Kendall does have a .429 OBP against Burnett, but that's in just a few ABs.
The Black and Blue Jays (named for their pugilistic stylings) send out this lineup:
Johnson
Rios
Wells
Glaus
Molina
Hill
Overbay
Zaun
McDonald
Halsey pitched well in Sacramento, so we shall see if he can translate that success for the A's. Halsey has hardly faced any of the Blue Jays as well. But those who have faced him on the roster, they have 19 ABs against him and have one hit. The one player to have that hit, Jason Phillips, isn't in the lineup.
LET'S GO A'S!!!!!!!
