Following a frustrating loss in which the A's were bullish on baserunners but bearish on runs, Oakland sends ace Brandon McCarthy to the mound against Jeanmar Gomez. The A's, who have not yet been over .500 this season, will try to return to the break-even mark tonight.
Meanwhile, the A's have optioned Graham Godfrey to AAA and recalled reliever Pedro Figueroa. Once a starting pitcher, Figueroa is a LHP recovered from Tommy John surgery who, IIRC, is throwing in the 93 MPH range again. Figueroa was off to a fast start in Sacramento, allowing just 2 hits in 7 innings, with 4 BBs and 8 Ks. Remember that Godfrey cannot be recalled for 10 days and the A's are in the midst of a stretch of 11 consecutive days with a game, so they will need another 5th (technically 4th) starter to go on Wednesday. I'm not sure that's anyone on the current roster, so stay tuned...
The starting lineups: