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Welp, the day we all knew was coming is finally upon us. Eric Surkamp is once again the starting pitcher for the Oakland Athletics. Saturday's double header against the Orioles meant the A's would need 6 starting pitchers in 5 days, so Jesse Hahn was optioned to AAA Nashville and Surkamp was called up this morning to pitch for the A's.
It's probably fair to say most of AN has been dreading this game since we realized it was a possibility; Eric Surkamp is the definition of mediocrity, and he is being tasked with suppressing a lineup full of hot hitters at Fenway Park, a hitter's park. None of this is Surkamp's fault - he has serviceably filled in as our pitching rotation has struggled immensely with mechanics and injury. As sad as this is, his ERA is currently better than that of Sonny Gray, Sean Manaea, and Kendall Graveman. Let that sink in for a minute. But this is just a perfect storm coming on the tail of three consecutive games in which the A's have surrendered 11+ runs. Surkamp pitched well in AAA since his last start for the A's, and hopefully he can carry that momentum into tonight to stop the A's' losing streak at four games.
The Red Sox starting pitcher is Rick Porcello. Porcello has had a solid season so far, with an ERA under 3 and over 1 strikeout per inning pitched. At least Billy Butler has a good track record against him?
Time for the A's to pull out of their tailspin behind the most unlikely of pitchers. The game starts at 4:10pm PST. Go A's!
