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Game Thread #26: Oakland A’s vs. Arizona Diamondbacks

Going for the split!

By Alex Hall

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Oakland Athletics v San Francisco Giants
u cant explain it
Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

The Oakland A’s are back on the winning side after Wednesday night. They put together a strong all-around performance, from starting to relieving to hitting to fielding, earning a 4-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Now they’ll look for the overall series split, after dropping the first two contests in the desert earlier this week.

The A’s call on Sean Manaea to start. The lefty had his best outing of the summer last weekend against the Giants, making it through a season-high five innings and allowing a season-low three runs (two earned). Nobody doubts his ability in the first three frames, which he tends to breeze through with no problem, but now he’ll get a chance to build on his success against the second time through the opposing lineup.

The D’Backs respond with a lefty of their own in Alex Young. The former 2nd-round draft pick, who turns 27 in a couple weeks, had a strong showing as a rookie last year in 17 appearances (15 starts), and in some ways he’s been even better this summer. His strikeouts are up and his walks are down, but on the other hand he’s also served up four homers in 14 innings — unfortunately for Oakland, I’d bet on the K/BB improvement being more real than the small-sample dinger binge.

Two lefties on the mound means extra righties in each lineup, and a couple of big-name hitters sitting out. For the A’s, that’s Robbie Grossman, whose 191 wRC+ is tied for fifth-best in MLB; of course, just because he’s not starting doesn’t mean we won’t see him at some point off the bench.

(Also, if you left feedback on today’s Elephant Rumblings thread, I’ll be responding to those comments during the game if you’re interested.)

First pitch is 6:40 p.m., with the following options to watch or listen:

  • TV: NBC Sports California
  • Radio: 960 AM
  • Online video stream: fuboTV
  • Online audio stream: iHeartRadio

A’s lineup (home)

  1. SS Marcus Semien (R)
  2. CF Ramon Laureano (R)
  3. 3B Matt Chapman (R)
  4. LF Mark Canha (R)
  5. 1B Matt Olson (L)
  6. RF Stephen Piscotty (R)
  7. DH Khris Davis (R)
  8. 2B Chad Pinder (R)
  9. C Sean Murphy (R)
  • Sean Manaea, LHP

A few changes to face the lefty starter, with righties Davis and Pinder in there.

D’Backs lineup (away)

  1. RF Tim Locastro (R)
  2. 2B Ketel Marte (S)
  3. CF Starling Marte (R)
  4. LF David Peralta (L)
  5. 1B Christian Walker (R)
  6. 3B Eduardo Escobar (S)
  7. SS Nick Ahmed (R)
  8. DH Kevin Cron (R)
  9. C Carson Kelly (R)
  • Alex Young, LHP

Kole Calhoun out, Peralta in.

Let’s Go Oakland!

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