A's @ White Sox

[hot_corner_gurl]

August 9
Brandon McCarthy (6-3, 2.54 ERA) vs Gavin Floyd (8-9, 4.43 ERA)

So this will be Mr. McCarthy's first start in nearly two months. That gosh darned shoulder that kept him away looks to be pretty well healed (struck out nine or ten in his last rehab outing). Floyd had a bit of a rough start agains the Angels last time out, but somehow managed to settle down and give the Sox the chance to win.


August 10
Tommy Milone (9-9, 3.31 ERA) vs Francisco Liriano (0-0, 2.45 ERA)

Milone's last time out was in Toronto, where the sluggish Jay offense was able to tag him for six runs in as many innings. Hopefully he'll be able to keep his pitches down and not leave so many hanging, because God knows the Sox hitters will be ready to do anything to increase their lead over the Tigers. Liriano's last outing was cut short after he was bruised by a grounder off Izturis, but he should be fine for his start Saturday.


August 11
Jarrod Parker (7-6, 3.55 ERA) vs Chris Sale (13-3, 2.59 ERA)

Parker appears to have plateaued out a bit since the ASB, going 2-3 with a near 6 ERA after going 5-3 with a 2.46 ERA up until July 2. The rookie has faired decently on the road, posting a 4.84 ERA away from the Coliseum. Sale made his last start against the Royals after nine (?) days of rest, but came back strong with his fastball topping out in the mid-90s. He's back on his normal schedule, so we shall see if that was a fluke outing or if he's got his A game today (being optimistic here, don't judge).



This'll be an interesting series...the Sox are currently a half game above the Tigers in the standings, while the A's are five and a half back of Texas. The A's are currently in a three-way tie with the Tigers and Baltimore (OMG!!!) for the Wild Card lead, so a win in this series could put the A's on top. We nearly blew the game yesterday (hung on 9-8), so our relief pitchers need to be on top of things to keep the Sox offense at bay in the later innings. I think we should be able to pull out a win here. *fingers crossed*

[love_that_reefer]

Definitely a good series that could have some playoff implications. The A's have to be the surprise team of the season thus far

[hot_corner_gurl]

I wouldn't say that the A's are the surprise team of the season (partially because of my naïveté regarding my boys always "succeeding"). I'm still pretty blown away by Baltimore and Washington. Guess it's the built-in stigma that dies hard.

[love_that_reefer]

I didn't see the A's being above .500 let alone in a playoff race but you're right, Baltimore is right there with them. Washington had a lot of good things going for them so I'm not that shocked.

[hot_corner_gurl]

Wow am I a ditz or what. Just occurred to me that this series doesn't start until tomorrow. Whoops.

Must be fate telling me to lay off the pakalolo.

[hot_corner_gurl]

A's lose 4-3 on a walk-off by Jordan Danks with two out in the bottom of the ninth. Had an early lead but couldn't hold on or capitalize on a bases loaded situation in the third. McCarthy was efficient in his outing, throwing 85 pitches with 60 of them for strikes, but he was hurt by the long ball.

Game two tomorrow with Milone going against Liriano. Hopefully Milone can rebound and right the ship. I really don't want any downward momentum at all.

[Providence A's]

Damn it. They need the next 2. They're no longer in one of the Wild Card spots. It would really make my summer if they can snag one of the spots.

[Kingdom]

Danks' first career homerun. Hm. They used a little of Oakland's own magic..

[hot_corner_gurl]

Thank GOD we held on tonight. Quite a bit of an adventure out there...built up an early four run lead, then blew it (courtesy of Flowers and Youkilis). Inge dislocated his shoulder on a nice play, popped it back in, and then drove in what would be the winning run. Blackley took Milone's spot, giving him a day off. Then that whole RBI double that turned into a ground-rule double, eliminating the RBI. Can't the A's just win a game without all this extra chaos? The back-and-forth play is wreaking havoc on my nerves.

Going for the series win tomorrow.