Game Thread #16: Oakland Athletics vs. Houston Astros

So, you remember that time a couple of weeks ago when you thought that there would just never be Oakland Athletics baseball to watch, what with the rainouts, the "rain"outs, and the day games? Well, then this stretch is for you, as the A's kick off a 13-games-in-a-row streak; they don't have an off-day until the next month. And it's only April 18th.

By baseballgirl Apr 18, 2014, 6:43pm PDT

Good evening, Happy Friday, and welcome to another exciting evening of your 2014 Oakland Athletics baseball! I'll be your host, baseballgirl, and I'll be bringing you tonight's game with a side of ChocolateRougue Chocolate Wine. The A's have just completed a 7-2 road-trip, and it was nearly 8-1, had the ninth inning of Wednesday's game not gone just as every other ninth inning this year in a close game, well, you know. I'd just like to point out that had the A's closed their 4 blown saves, they would be 13-2. Of course, with the horrific defense and baserunning; saved only by the incredibly awesome starting pitching, they're probably lucky to be 10-5, so let's just play better, mmmkay?

The crowd at the Coliseum tonight will get to see Sonny Gray pitch his fourth start of the year; he's 2-0 on the season. He will be facing off against flamethrower Jarred Cosart, who is most definitely not your last year's Astros. The A's played incredibly well against the Astros a season ago, and they look to fatten up their AL West lead with a good home series, or exactly the opposite of how they opened the season at home.

The good news is that Kazmir seems to be okay after his injury in the last game, and we welcome back to the lineup one Coco Crisp, leading off.

Here are your lineups:

The Houston Astros

1. Jose Altuve (R) 2B

2. Dexter Fowler (S) CF

3. Jason Castro (L) C

4. George Springer (R) RF

5. Marc Krauss (L) 1B

6. Chris Carter (R) DH

7. Alex Presley (L) LF

8. Matt Dominguez (R) 3B

9. Jonathan Villar (S) SS