Game Thread #44: A’s at Blue Jays

The A’s are finally on the downhill stretch of this lengthy 10-game East Coast road trip. Now, they’re headed to Toronto’s Rogers Center today to take on the Toronto Blue Jays for a four-game series. So far they’ve gone 3-3, defeating the New York Yankees in one game of their three-game series and taking the second series two games to one from the Boston Red Sox. It was the second time this season that they have taken a series from the Red Sox, who are currently considered one of the strongest teams in all of Major League Baseball.

All-in-all they have had a solid road trip against the always tough AL East. The Blue Jays should be their easiest opponents out of the three AL East teams they set out to face before heading back to Oakland. The Blue Jays are currently seven games behind the Red Sox and seven and a half games behind the Yankees. They aren’t, however, that far ahead of the A’s when it comes to the two teams’ overall records. The Blue Jays are 22-21, while the A’s are 21-22. Both teams are 4-6 in their last ten games and both will be out to win this four-game series. The Blue Jays should still stand to be a formidable opponent — even without the likes of short stop Troy Tulowitzki and starting pitcher Marcus Stroman, who are on the disabled list.

Today’s Lineups:

Taking the mound today for the A’s will be Andrew Triggs. Triggs will face off against the Blue Jays’ 25-year-old Aaron Sanchez. Sanchez was an All-Star in 2016 when he led the league in ERA (3.00). Since then though, he has put up mediocre numbers and enters today’s game with a 4.08 ERA to Triggs’ 5.31 ERA. The Blue Jays will put up a tough fight but the A’s have every chance to win the first game of this series.

Let’s Go Oakland!!