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Game Thread #54: Oakland A’s at Los Angeles Dodgers

Frankie Montas returns to LA to face his former team

By Alex Hall

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Oakland Athletics v Texas Rangers Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Welcome to garbage time! The Oakland A’s have already clinched the AL West division crown, and it might actually be best if they don’t improve their current seeding because they already have their best-case first-round matchup as the No. 3 seed (against the No. 6 Astros). Therefore, these games don’t matter almost at all, and for what little they do matter, you might almost want to root for them to lose so they keep that date with Houston against a team we know they’re capable of beating.

But leaving all that aside and focusing on the present day at hand, the A’s will face off against the MLB-best Los Angeles Dodgers, who themselves have a magic number of two to clinch the NL West crown.

Oakland will open with starter Frankie Montas, who came to the A’s via a trade from the Dodgers in 2016. Los Angeles got stars Josh Reddick and Rich Hill, and Oakland got Montas, Grant Holmes, and Jharel Cotton. Since then, Cotton has moved on, Holmes is still on the 40-man roster as a bright prospect, and Montas has developed into a potential ace, although he’s hit a rough patch lately ever since experiencing tightness in his back last month.

The Dodgers respond with Dustin May, who’s been clocked as high as 101 mph this season. He has a 2.68 ERA but his FIP is two runs higher, thanks to a low strikeout rate and a few too many homers, so perhaps that’s a good matchup for an A’s lineup that needs to avoid whiffing and wants to utilize its power.

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

  • TV: NBC Sports California, or nationally on ESPN
  • Radio: 960 AM
  • Online video stream: fuboTV
  • Online audio stream: iHeartRadio

A’s lineup (away)

  1. DH Tommy La Stella (L)
  2. LF Robbie Grossman (S)
  3. SS Marcus Semien (R)
  4. 1B Matt Olson (L)
  5. CF Mark Canha (R)
  6. 3B Jake Lamb (L)
  7. RF Stephen Piscotty (R)
  8. 2B Tony Kemp (L)
  9. C Sean Murphy (R)
  • Frankie Montas, RHP

No Khris Davis, or Ramon Laureano. And a half-day off for Tommy La Stella.

Dodgers lineup (home)

  1. RF Mookie Betts (R)
  2. SS Corey Seager (L)
  3. 1B Max Muncy (L)
  4. CF Cody Bellinger (L)
  5. C Will Smith (R)
  6. 2B Chris Taylor (R)
  7. DH Joc Pederson (L)
  8. LF A.J. Pollock (R)
  9. 3B Edwin Rios (L)
  • Dustin May, RHP

Not that Will Smith, the other one. No, the other other one. Also, 3B Justin Turner was a late scratch, for rest after a recent return from a hammy injury.

Let’s Go Oakland!

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