Game Thread #24: Oakland Athletics vs. Houston Astros

Happy, happy Friday to all, as we meet again at the end of a week. Rally Baby and I held up our end of the bargain in last Friday's win, but the A's--more specifically, the A's starting pitching--turned a promising road trip into a dud of a week, as the A's lost all but one game this week, and after the week of positively uninspiring baseball, all eyes are on Oakland tonight as Sean Manaea makes his Major League debut against the Houston Astros.

Nico and I had the chance to see Manaea in Spring Training live this year, so we are just as excited as anyone to see him in the show tonight. Obviously, my expectations are tempered, but I've been worried about the A's starting pitching since Day 1, and it's nice to see the A's improving on the starting five with Manaea tonight and Jesse Hahn (finally out of the doghouse) tomorrow. Of course, the injuries have made this possible; and can we really expect the return of Chris Bassitt; I feel we all know about strained elbows.

The starting pitching isn't alone riding the struggle bus this week; the offense has been fairly abysmal in its own right, so the A's will try to put some runs on the board against Mike Fiers.

Here are your lineups:

Rally Baby is ready to root for the A's, so let's hope tonight's game lives up to all the hype.

LET'S GO OAK-LAND!