Tonight, from the ballpark in Arlington, the A's send Dan Haren to the mound with a record of 12-9 and an ERA of 3.79 to take on Vicente Padilla, who sports a similar 12-8 record, with an ERA of 4.38.
In his last start against Oakland, Padilla came away with the win, having guided the team to a tight 14-0 victory. In contrast, Haren tossed 8 innings of one-run ball his last time out against Texas, but left with a no-decision, as the A's lost 5-3.
As you likely remember, the last time we saw Mr. Haren on the mound, he was teasing the Blue Jays by spotting them an 8-0 lead, on his way to a 12-10 victory in which he gave up 9 earned runs. If he were to repeat that performance, it would make him look quite silly, given the A's pitching staff's dominance of the Rangers' bats thus far, in a series which has just short of eliminated Texas from the playoff picture.
Tonight's starting lineups:
Your 2006 Oakland Athletics
- Kendall
- Kotsay
- Bradley
- Thomas
- Chavez
- Kielty
- Swisher
- Scutaro
- Ellis
- Matthews Jr.
- Young
- Lee
- Teixeira
- Blalock
- DeRosa
- Stairs
- Kinsler
- Laird
