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Nothing takes your mind off of last night's tough loss like...the next game! So here's an early game thread that you can hang to Raul Ibañez or use to get in Josh Donaldson's way.
I've mentioned this in game threads: since the 18-inning game on June 13th, the A's are 3-6 with the 3 wins coming against Hisashi Iwakuma, Yu Darvish, and Iwakuma again -- meaning that the A's haven't beaten an American pitcher for 10 days. Hopefully, either this trend ends or Jeremy Bonderman has an epiphany, as he starts for the Mariners today against Jarrod Parker.
Bonderman has been pitching effectively of late, having allowed just 2 ER in 20 IP over his last 3 starts. However, his last start, in which Bonderman allowed just 1 ER in 6 IP to the Angels, featured 3 BBs and 0 Ks. Smoke and mirrors, or fastball and slider? We'll see.
The A's lineup features the return of Seth Smith to the DH spot with Coco Crisp back in CF, and Eric Sogard dropped back to 9th in the order as punishment for going 3 for 4 last night:
