JP Sears gets the start as Athletics look to snap skid against Twins

JP Sears will make his first start of the second half Sunday as the Oakland Athletics look to snap a six-game skid against the Minnesota Twins. The A’s fell 5-4 in the opener Friday night and then rallied back from a 6-0 deficit Saturday, but ultimately fell 10-7.

Entering the season, Sears wasn’t assured of a rotation spot, but he has arguably been the team’s most consistent option. He will make his 19th start Sunday. He is carrying a 3.97 ERA albeit with a FIP that is nearly a run higher at 4.89, but he has been able to make it work most days and has given Oakland at least a chance. Sears entered the break pitching well having allowed one run combined over his last two starts (12.1 innings).

The Twins will go with right-hander Joe Ryan in Sunday’s finale. Ryan has put together a solid season with a 3.70 ERA and a 3.50 FIP to go along with a 28.8% strikeout rate in 107 innings. He struggled a bit in his final starts leading up to the break 13 runs over his last 13 1/3 innings spanning three starts. Sunday will be Ryan’s first career start against Oakland.

The A’s banged out 10 hits in Saturday’s loss including the first two of rookie catcher Tyler Soderstrom’s career. Zack Gelof added his first career triple and scored a pair of runs. Nick Allen had a big day with two hits and two RBI. It was his first multi-hit game since May 16.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Sunday, July 16, 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