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Good evening and Happy Friday to you all!
So if I asked you right now, it's quite likely that you'd tell me that that A's are struggling. And compared to the first three months of the season, where they won nearly every game by what seemed like 10 runs, they are. The A's are 5-5 in their last 10, which include a blow-up by Sonny Gray and a blow-up inning that cost Scott Kazmir the game in his last start, thanks to the A's temporarily-anemic offense. But that's not the whole story. We should crowd-fund nice watches and ship them down to Los Angeles for the Dodgers, who lost the first game of four, but would come back to win the next three to take the series against the Angels, and even with their struggles, the A's sit three full games atop the American League West with the Division Showdown all too close.
Kazmir will have another chance in today's game, facing a team that he has had success against--as have the A's as a whole--and he'll have one of the A's best lineup behind him. Lowrie is in the game tonight, and after a terrific game last night, Sogard is too.
Regarding the scoreboard watching on a Friday night, if you like nostalgia, it's perfectly okay, and strongly encouraged to root for Yoenis Cespedes and the Red Sox tonight. For more than the obvious reasons, it's also strongly encouraged to root for the Kansas City Royals and their push for the AL Central (sidenote: every game with the exception of next week, of course).
So now that you're all caught up, let's play some ball! Here are your lineups:
LET'S GO OAK-LAND!
