Hogan Harris looks to right the ship as A’s continue series against Twins (UPDATED)

The Oakland Athletics will look to snap a five-game losing streak Saturday evening when they continue a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins. The A’s battled Friday night, but a late two-run home run by Joey Gallo off Shintaro Fujinami was the difference in a 5-4 loss. Hogan Harris will get the start for Oakland Saturday while the Twins will go with righty Pablo Lopez.

Perhaps the break allowed Harris the time to reset after he struggled over his final three outings. Harris was tagged for eight hits and seven runs in 4 2/3 innings in his last start against the Tigers. He has allowed 15 runs and walked 10 over his last 14 2/3 innings combined. The walks have been problematic and have driven up his pitch count early in games.

The Twins acquired Lopez from the Marlins in exchange for Luis Arraez prior to the season. While Arraez entered the break hitting over .380, Lopez has put up good numbers for Minnesota with a 3.89 ERA and a 3.17 FIP to go along with a 30.5% strikeout rate in 111 innings. Lopez dominated the Royals in his final start before the break tossing a four-hit, complete game shutout while striking out 12.

Oakland used seven pitchers in the opener, including starter Ken Waldichuk, who exited after 3 2/3 innings. The two-run homer in the ninth by Gallo were the only runs allowed by the bullpen.

Tyler Soderstrom and Zack Gelof both made their major league debuts in Friday’s loss. Gelof recorded his first career hit and RBI with a double off the wall in the third inning. Soderstrom went hitless in three at-bats but did work a walk. Tony Kemp came off the bench and doubled in his only plate appearance. Since the start of June, Kemp is hitting .280/.366/.427 with a 129 wRC+.

UPDATE - Austin Pruitt is now listed as Oakland’s starter and will serve as an opener for Harris.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Saturday, July 15, 4:07 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