James Kaprielian, A’s look to avoid sweep Sunday against Rays

The Oakland Athletics will try to snap a three-game losing streak and avoid a sweep when they take on the Tampa Bay Rays. James Kaprielian will get the start for Oakland while the Rays will go with right-hander Drew Rasmussen.

Oakland is now 2-6 on the season and has the worst run differential in the majors at -34. The offense has been inconsistent and the starting rotation has been consistently bad over the first eight games. The A’s managed just three hits, all singles, in Saturday’s 11-0 loss.

Offseason shoulder surgery slowed Kaprielian through the start of the spring, but he was able to ramp up enough to begin the season in the rotation. He struggled in his first outing against Cleveland where he allowed seven hits, two walks and five runs in just five innings. Sunday will be his first career appearance against the Rays.

After facing Jeffrey Springs on Saturday, things won’t get any easier Sunday against Rays righty Drew Rasmussen. Rasmussen was sharp in his first outing allowing two hits over six scoreless innings against the Washington Nationals. He struck out seven and threw just 66 pitches. Rasmussen has faced Oakland once in his career where he allowed one run over five innings.

While a lot of the focus has been on the struggles of the rotation, the A’s need to get their offense going. Entering play Sunday, Oakland is 28th with a .209 batting average as a team. They are 26th in runs scored and have hit just eight home runs.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Sunday, April 9, 10:10 am PDT

Location: St. Petersburg, Florida

TV: NBCSCA

Streaming: MLB.tv

Radio: A’s Cast, Bloomberg 960 AM / 103.7 HD2