The A's hung on by their fingertips last night in a thrilling 7-6 win (something new and different in the last 10 days of struggles) and are now in position to take the series from the Rangers with another win today. This would also put them back into first place in the AL West.
However (and it's a big one), they must contend with Texas' Colby Lewis, who aced the Mariners in nine full innings his last time out. He struck out 10 batters and only walked one, which does not bode well for the A's light-hitting squad. Lewis has been practically unhittable in his three road starts, and is probably looking forward to the game today.
Matching up against Lewis will be Trevor Cahill, who will try to put on a better show than his last time out (and better than his fellow Triple-A starter last night). Cahill looked anything but Major League ready in his last start; he surrendered another three homeruns en route to his 6ER in 5IP. Cahill has had some success against the Rangers in his career, but one would think that this pitching matchup heavily favors the Rangers.
In other news, Vin Mazzaro has been sent back down and Henry Rodriguez joins the 'pen.
LET'S GO OAK-LAND!