Hogan Harris looks to continue his solid run against the Phillies

After another tough loss on Saturday, the Oakland Athletics will try to avoid a sweep Sunday when they wrap up a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The A’s fell 3-2 in 12 innings Sunday running their losing skid to four-straight games. While they got solid pitching up and down the board, the offense sputtered again going 1-for-19 with runners in scoring position while leaving 12 men on base. Oakland is just 5-for-48 with runners in scoring position during the four-game slide. Carlos Perez accounted for all of the A’s offense Saturday with a solo home run in the fifth inning and a run-scoring double in the 11th that tied the game.

One positive takeaway for the A’s has been the performance of their pitching staff as the season has progressed. Since the start of June, Oakland has a 4.04 ERA and a 4.64 FIP. Both of those rank in the middle of the pack in the majors, but when you consider where they started the season, it shows progress.

Sunday’s starter Hogan Harris has been a big part of that. Harris will make his sixth appearance of the season Sunday and has a 2.45 ERA and a 3.13 FIP in 22 innings since returning to the major league roster on May 27. Harris tossed a career-high seven innings in his last start and allowed four hits and one run against the Rays.

The Phillies will counter with right-hander Zack Wheeler who has again been a workhorse through the first part of the season. Wheeler allowed seven earned runs to the Nationals on June 2, but has allowed just two runs combined in two starts since (13 1/3 innings). He is second in the majors with 3.0 fWAR, trailing only Arizona’s Zac Gallen.

The A’s need to find a way to get their struggling offense going. Esteury Ruiz had two hits and reached base three times in Saturday’s loss. He also picked up his league leading 36th stolen base of the season. Ramon Laureano returned to the starting lineup for the first time in two days, but was ejected in the first inning after voicing his displeasure on a check swing strike call.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Sunday, June 18, 1:07 p.m. PDT

Location: Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, California

TV: NBCSCA

Streaming: MLB.tv

Radio: A’s Cast, Bloomberg 960 AM / 103.7 HD2, KIQI 1010