Game Thread #138: Athletics vs Angels

The Athletics are back in Oakland and are seeing the Los Angeles Angels for the first time since the end of June. The two team’s records were only a few games apart in their last match up, but in the interceding two months the A’s have taken off and sit around fourteen games ahead of the SoCal squad.

A’s fans get to look forward to another Mike Fiers start, with the veteran being pushed from his scheduled appearance on Sunday. This delay adds a few benefits for Fiers and the Athletics, he’s pitching in the Coliseum which is much preferred to the fly ball pitcher being used in Yankee Stadium, Fiers got an extra two days of rest which is a boost to an A’s starter who has been in the rotation since the start of the season, and it gave an opportunity for Sean Manaea to return to the big league squad, though his start was squandered in the later innings.

Angels starter Jaime Barria has been back and forth on options the entire year. Starting the season in the bullpen, Barria has bounced between AAA and the rotation since June, with his longest stretch in the majors between mid-July and mid-August. Back up again for the last two weeks the inconsistency of locale definitely shows, as Barria’s ERA has not dropped below 6.00 since getting time in the rotation, and having only one appearance last longer than 5.0 innings shows that Jaime has served as a stopgap in his sophomore season rather than as a leader.

Lineups:

Lineup Notes:

• It’s a pretty standard lineup for the Athletics tonight, with only the secret weapon Seth Brown as a relatively fresh call up in the batting order.
• Do expect to start seeing more September extended roster fun with both Murphy and Neuse available for pinch hitting opportunities.

Go A’s!