Game Thread #102: A’s at Padres

The Oakland A’s are having a weird month. They’re still in playoff position, but you wouldn’t know it from reading the sky-is-falling comment threads here on Athletics Nation. The Mariners just humbled them three days in a row to climb back into the Wild Card race, but then Seattle traded away their closer today. Also Seattle has an atrocious minus-49 run differential, which either matters or doesn’t depending on your chosen narrative at that moment.

Now the A’s head into some interleague action, which isn’t a good thing because the NL West is the best division in baseball right now. On Tuesday they’ll face the third-place San Diego Padres, who have the eight-best record in MLB (1.5 games above the A’s). Both clubs made trades in the last couple days, with the Padres getting All-Star hitter Adam Frazier (from the Pirates), and the A’s getting lefty setup reliever Andrew Chafin (from the Cubs).

A’s lineup (away)

1. LF Mark Canha (R)
2. CF Ramon Laureano (R)
3. 1B Matt Olson (L)
4. 2B Jed Lowrie (S)
5. C Sean Murphy (R)
6. RF Seth Brown (L)
7. 3B Matt Chapman (R)
8. SS Elvis Andrus (R)
9. RHP James Kaprielian (R)

No DH as the National League continues to grasp for the last dying breaths of anachronism.

Padres lineup (home)

1. LF Adam Frazier (L)
2. SS Fernando Tatis Jr (R)
3. 2B Jake Cronenworth (R)
4. 3B Manny Machado (R)
5. 1B Eric Hosmer (L)
6. RF Tommy Pham (R)
7. CF Trent Grisham (L)
8. C Victor Caratini (S)
9. RHP Chris Paddack (R)

Let’s go Oakland!

How To Watch

• Date: Tuesday, July 27
• Time: 7:10 p.m. PT
• TV (local): NBC Sports California
• Radio: 960 AM (more listings here)
• Streaming (watch): NBCS website (with cable sub)
• Streaming (listen): A’s Cast