Another day, another replacement starter. This time up, it's Guillermo Moscoso, making his first appearance as an Athletic. Moscoso was acquired from the Texas Rangers this past January for high-A pitcher Ryan Kelly, and he's making his first career big league start after appearing in 11 games as a reliever for the Rangers in 2009 and 2010. Thankfully, he's been Sacramento's best starting pitcher this year, striking out 9.6 batters per 9 innings while walking only 2.9. He throws a 90-92 mph four-seam fastball with plenty of cutting action, with an 80 mph curveball that acts more like a slow slider than your usual curve. He also has a changeup that is rather puzzling, as it has a fantastic velocity differential compared to his fastball (10-12 mph), but it doesn't sink at all. We'll just have to see what it looks like in-game.
But Moscoso is going to need every little bit of luck he can get his hands on, as he faces Dan Haren (4-2, 1.84 ERA) tonight in Anaheim. Haren has the best FIP in the American League (only behind Roy Halladay among all pitchers in the majors), so Moscoso and the A's offense might have a hard time breaking their six game losing streak tonight. Here's hoping they buck the odds.
CF Crisp
1B Barton
LF Willingham
DH Fuentes Matsui
C Suzuki
RF DeJesus
2B Ellis
3B LaRoche
SS Pennington
