Athletics look to avoid sweep Sunday against Padres

Another A’s prospect will make his debut Sunday as the Oakland Athletics look to avoid a sweep when they wrap up a three-game series against the San Diego Padres. The A’s have lost three-straight and are 46-102 on the season. Rookie Joe Boyle will make his major league debut as an opener Sunday while the Padres will go with righty Nick Martinez.

The A’s acquired Boyle from the Reds in a deadline deal for lefty Sam Moll. He has an exceptional fastball, but has struggled with his command throughout his professional career. Boyle has made three starts at Las Vegas where he allowed four earned runs to go along with 18 strikeouts and 11 walks in 16 innings. Oakland hasn’t announced who will follow Boyle, but it is likely to be Ken Waldichuk, who was excellent in his last outing.

The Padres will also go with an opener in Martinez who will make his seventh start and his 61st appearance of the season. Martinez began the year in San Diego’s rotation before shifting to the bullpen. He’s been good in September allowing just one run over his last six appearances.

Zack Gelof hit his 12th home run of the season for the A’s in Saturday’s loss. Gelof has an .859 OPS over the first 55 games of his major league career. Lawrence Butler also finished with two hits Saturday.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Sunday, September 17, 1:07 p.m. PDT

Location: Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, California

TV: NBCSCA

Streaming: MLB TV

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