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Today the A’s wrap up what can only be considered a disastrous 10-game home stand, even if they can pull off a win this afternoon, it was still a really bad week for the green and gold.
So far the A’s are 3-6 since returning from their very successful East Coast road trip in which they collectively hit 19 home runs and scored a total of 60. In the nine games since the A’s have scored just 15 runs - exactly one quarter of how many they scored on the road trip. On this home stand they have been hitting .155/.212/.245 with a mere five home runs.
There is still hope, however, as slugger Khris Davis was activated from the 10-day disabled list today after suffering a Grade 1 groin strain on May 20 in Toronto. The team optioned its newest reliever Carlos Ramirez to Triple-A Nashville in order to make room for Davis on the roster. This means we will likely be seeing some more of Franklin Barreto this week — he’s not in today’s lineup but Davis is! Welcome Back Khrush!
And now here are the lineups for this afternoon’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays:
A’s lineups vs. the Rays today. Khris Davis back in, hitting fourth and DHing as Oakland looks to avoid a four-game sweep. pic.twitter.com/i3aR9qlZQs
— Eric He (@erichesports) May 31, 2018
Daniel Mengden, who has been having a fantastic season so far, will be on the mound for the A’s. It will be his first outing since he pitched a complete game two-hit shutout against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday. He hasn’t allowed a run in each of his last two starts and is sporting a 2.85 ERA.
Rookie Ryne Stanek will take the mound for the Rays. Between 2017 and today he’s pitched a total of just 28.1 innings in the big leagues with a collective 5.08 ERA. Stanek has appeared in eight games this season for Tampa Bay, so far starting just one as part of their bullpen experiment. The A’s used the same strategy last Thursday allowing reliever Josh Lucas to throw approximately 50 pitches which got the team through the second inning. The same type of workload will likely be expected of Stanek today.
Hopefully the A’s can get the win today and avoid a four-game sweep at the hands of the Rays! With Davis back in the lineup and relievers on the mound for the Rays, they may just get the chance to end this home stand on a positive note.
Let’s Go Oakland!!
