Oakland A’s Series Preview #6: Angels host rematch

The Oakland A’s are on absolute fire. They’ve won nine games in a row, their 12-4 record is the best in the American League, and they have a five-game lead in the AL West ... over the Texas Rangers, with the incumbent Houston Astros getting knocked down to third place after being swept in the Coliseum last weekend.

The A’s have now played all four of their division rivals in 2020, winning 12 of 14 against them combined, so they’ll circle around and start over again. Time for a rematch against the Los Angeles Angels, on the road in Anaheim.

Los Angeles Angels

• 2020 record: 5-11

A lot has happened since these two teams met in the opening weekend of the season.

Back then, the A’s won three games out of four in the series. Since then, Oakland dropped a couple to the Rockies and one to the Mariners and then never lost again. It’s been over a week since anyone got the better of them, and Ramon Laureano is still active while he awaits news on his impending suspension for Sunday’s brawl.

However, they’ll see a vastly different Angels squad than they did just last month. The Halos have added third baseman Anthony Rendon, their $245 million signing from last winter who missed the opening series with a minor injury. They’ve also called up top outfield prospect Jo Adell, considered one of the best youngsters in the sport, and welcomed back veteran starting pitcher Julio Teheran, another major offseason acquisition whose arrival was delayed by a positive coronavirus test. On the other hand, Shohei Ohtani won’t pitch again this year due to a forearm injury, and shortstop Andrelton Simmons is out after hurting himself at the Coliseum in July.

Despite that star infusion, though, they’re still not winning games. Rendon and 21-year-old Adell haven’t hit at all, and Teheran was shaky in his debut outing, all while the bullpen has already blown several leads. We’ll see if they can find a groove against the A’s, but that’ll be a tough task.

Projected lineup

• SS David Fletcher (R)
• 2B Tommy La Stella (L)
• CF Mike Trout (R)
• 3B Anthony Rendon (R)
• DH Shohei Ohtani (L)
• 1B Albert Pujols (R)
• LF Justin Upton (R)
• C Max Stassi (R)
• RF Jo Adell (R)

This is their lineup against the lefty Sean Manaea on Monday, but expect to see Jason Castro catching at least once and Brian Goodwin taking one of the outfield spots in the lineup against righties on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Starting pitchers

These are the three expected starters:

• Mon: Julio Teheran (R) vs. Sean Manaea (6:40 p.m.)
• Tue: Dylan Bundy (L) vs. Mike Fiers (6:40 p.m.)
• Wed: Griffin Canning (R) vs. Chris Bassitt (1:10 p.m.)

Oakland saw Teheran twice in his time with the Braves, once in 2014 and again in 2017. Those aren’t particularly relevant now, with only Khris Davis and Matt Olson present in that ‘17 lineup, but Davis did homer off him. Both times, Teheran threw a quality start in an Atlanta victory.

Bundy stymied the A’s back in July, pitching into the 7th and allowing just one run in a rare win over Oakland. Canning had less success, getting knocked out in the 5th in a loss and allowing a long ball to Mark Canha.

Bench/Bullpen

Here’s the Angels’ full 28-man roster:

10-day IL: RHP Cam Bedrosian (thigh), RHP Dillon Peters (oblique), RHP Jose Quijada (undisclosed), SS Andrelton Simmons (ankle)

45-day IL: RHP Justin Anderson (TJS)