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Yes, Sonny is still here. Yes, this tweet earlier (retracting today’s original lineup) was a masterful troll:
JK on that lineup tweet. New lineup is forthcoming.
— Oakland A's (@Athletics) July 25, 2017
Alonso’s still here. Jed’s still here. Nothing crazy going on yet.
Sonny is taking the mound for, yet again, “MAYBE HIS FINAL START FOR OAKLAND.” Realizing the importance of upping his value, Sonny has been pitching like his 2015 self recently, posting a 1.62 ERA in his last five starts. If this is the Sonny that the Yankees/Dodgers/whoever pay for, then we’ll have quite a haul on our hands.
Pitching for Toronto is Cesar Valdez in his first start of the year. Valdez is replacing Aaron Sanchez, who is out with a Rich Hill-esque blister that has had him on the DL for half the season. So the A’s caught a bit of a break there - Sanchez is reallllly good and Valdez is...eh.
Nothing too crazy going on with the A’s lineup. In fact, it actually looks really good to me. Offensively and defensively, this is arguably one of the best lineups that Oakland has fielded all season.
Game time is 4:07 PT. Go A’s!