Coming off a rare rocky outing, Chad Gaudin will try to pick up where Joe Blanton left off yesterday--specifically, throwing a lot of strikes. Gaudin has walked at least three batters in four consecutive starts, walking a total of 16 over 22.2 IP. Today's "fun fact": Despite this worrisome trend, the A's have still won each of Chad Gaudin's last eight starts.
Opposing Gaudin will be Homer Bailey who, unlike Kyle Lohse, does not have "lose" in his last name. The 21-year old Bailey is a #1 draft pick with a great arm and high ceiling, but he has also walked 7 batters in 11 innings so far this year (1-0, 5.73), and you know the A's will force him to prove he can throw strikes.
Remember those weird days back in 2001 when guys like Jeremy Giambi and Scott Hatteberg actually led off? They ba-aaa-ack! The lineups:
DH - Hatteberg
Phillips - 2B
Griffey Jr. - RF
Dunn - LF
Conine - 1B
Encarnacion - 3B
Hamilton - CF
Gonzalez - SS
Valentin - C
Buck - LF
Kotsay - CF
Swisher - RF
Chavez - 3B
Cust - DH
Ellis - 2B
Johnson - 1B
Crosby - SS
Suzuki - C
