Game #43: A’s Go For Sweep in Beantown!

What were you doing on September 5th, 1990? If you were a member of the Oakland A’s (which included Rickey, McGwire, Willie Randolph, Harold Baines, Mike Bordick) you were finishing a 3 game sweep of the Red Sox at Fenway Park. That is the last time an Oakland A’s team came to Boston and swept the home team. Tonight, 28 years later, the boys in the Green and Gold have a chance to once again sweep the BoSox!
*(40% chance of rain at game time)

The Boston Red Sox began the 2018 season, 17-2. Then the BoSox were introduced to one Sean Manaea and they have crashed down to earth ever since, going 11-11 after the @BABYSMGIRAFFE tossed a “no-no” against them. The A’s come into tonight’s game having won 4 straight games against Boston and have already clinched the season series win for the second straight season (first time since 1987-1988).

That is the good news heading into tonight’s contest. Now the bad news. The A’s go up against Red Sox lefty ace, Chris Sale tonight, fresh off a 9 inning, 15 strikeout performance against the Blue Jays (a game he amazingly received a no-decision in). The A’s faced Sale the same night as the Manaea no-hitter and knocked him around for six extra-base hits and 3 runs. Bob Melvin is throwing the same 9 batters he used in that game back on April 21st in tonight’s contest, so there is a glimmer of hope tonight going up against the 6-time All-Star southpaw.

On the mound for the A’s is Trevor Cahill (1-1, 2.25 ERA), activated off the 10-Day DL (Jake Smolinski optioned to Nashville) after experiencing a “right shoulder impingement.” I have no idea what this medical term means so I went to WebMD for some answers and according to this site, “With impingement syndrome, pain is persistent and affects everyday activities. Motions such as reaching up behind the back or reaching up overhead to put on a coat or blouse, for example, may cause pain. Over time, impingement syndrome can lead to inflammation of the rotator cuff tendons (tendinitis) and bursa (bursitis). If not treated appropriately, the rotator cuff tendons can start to thin and tear.”

So hopefully Cahill’s impingement has been “treated appropriately” and he can go back tonight to throwing 91-92mph with the “bugs bunny” change-up.

Here are tonight’s line-ups:

As the A’s wrap up their time in Boston, I will leave us with deep thoughts from my favorite Boston movie:

“You will have bad times, but it will always wake you up to the good stuff you weren’t paying attention to.” - Sean Maguire, aka, Robin Williams in “Good Will Hunting

Let’s...Go...Oakland
Sweep!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!