Open Thread: Game 83 - Broomer A's vs. Broomee Red Sox

By Nico Jul 4, 2012, 12:50pm PDT

"That's him, officer! That's the man who stole my spot on the All-Star roster!"

The A's are a robust 4-1 against the Boston Red Sox so far this year, taking aim at a series sweep this 4th of July, after a thrilling "comeback walk-off --> fireworks show" in front of a capacity crowd.

A.J. Griffin makes his third big league start having thrown 11 shutout innings since serving up a two-run HR to Buster Posey in his inaugural frame. "Fastball, curve, cutter, changeup, and grit" has proven to be a good arsenal. Griffin is opposed not by LHP Franklyn Morales, but instead by RHP Aaron Cook.

Cook was an excellent SP for the Rockies who then got hurt and given up on by Colorado -- do you think the Rockies might wish they had held onto him?. Cook's last outing was a complete game shutout on 81 pitches. Hopefully he's done channeling Greg Maddux and the A's can feast on Cook in short order.

Bob Melvin is sticking to his 1B platoon for now, meaning that the Red Sox' pitching switcharoo leads to no Chris Carter and MOAR Brandon Moss:

1. Daniel Nava (S) LF

2. Ryan Kalish (L) CF

3. David Ortiz (L) DH

4. Jarrod Saltalamacchia (S) C

5. Adrian Gonzalez (L) 1B

6. Mauro Gomez (R) 3B

7. Cody Ross (R) RF

8. Mike Aviles (R) SS

9. Nick Punto (S) 2B

1. Coco Crisp (S) CF

2. Jemile Weeks (S) 2B