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I like the Cleveland Indians. I hate the mascot, but I really like the team. They were my pick to go all the way last year, and barring the Dodgers, will probably be my pick again this year.
With that said, I think the most important thing for the A’s right now is that the Indians lay a big ol’ egg and blow it tonight. Cuz, you know...we have something special on the line:
Not only are the Indians playing to tie our record today, but they’ll be doing so with the help of Corey Kluber, one of the best pitchers in baseball. The record is not looking great. While I would never go so far as to wish bodily harm onto another player (at least a non-slegnA), I am absolutely not above wishing that Kluber experiences some immense psychic implosion that derails his performance tonight and stops Cleveland’s streak at 19. C’mon y’all, let us have something.
Oh yeah, and the A’s are playing today as well. Same time as the Indians, in fact. The game is a little less noteworthy - Oakland is taking on the current AL East front running Boston Red Sox over in Massachusetts. The two starting pitchers (Sean Manaea for Oakland, Eduardo Rodriguez for Boston) are comically evenly matched - both are lefties, both have a 4.33 ERA, both have 126 K’s.
But seriously, as someone who writes about the A’s, maybe the game in which the A’s are playing is not the most important game for our franchise. Consider at least checking in on the Indians game - maybe our collective hatred can will our arch-rival Tigers to a win tonight. It feels dirty to root for the Tigers, but they’re our only hope at this point.
Here are the lineups for tonight’s game in Boston:
Game time is 4:10 PT. Go Oakland. Boo Cleveland.
