The Athletics offense finally came to life on Sunday as the team broke its 4-game losing streak with a walk-off victory against the Baltimore Orioles. Yoenis Cespedes was reinstated from the disabled list and gave the A’s some much needed pop as he hit his fourth home run of the year to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth inning. The powerful presence Cespedes brings to the line-up is something the A’s have been missing during his absence. Luckily for the A’s, he is back. Unfortunately, now that Cespedes is back, the A’s are forced to skip Brett Anderson in the rotation because of his sprained ankle. His replacement: Dan Straily. Straily’s next opponent: The Los Angeles Angels.
September 29, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Dan Straily (67) delivers a pitch during the second inning against the Seattle Mariners at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
In the first game of the series, Dan Straily will look to get his second win of the season against the Los Angeles Angeles. He last pitched in the big leagues on April 5, when he struck out eleven and allowed two earned runs over six and two-thirds innings. Straily pitched extremely well while pitching for the Sacramento River Cats–he is 3-0 with a 0.96 ERA in three starts. Hopefully he can continue his domination over professional hitters when he takes on a powerful Angels line-up at 7:05 pm Monday.
The Angels will send Tommy Hanson to the mound to oppose Straily. Hanson is making his first start since being placed on the bereavement list. His last start was on April 19 against the Detroit Tigers when he threw six shutout innings. He is 2-1 with a 4.24 ERA over 17 innings pitched in three starts this season.
The Athletics swept the Angels in the teams first trip to Southern California. Oakland outscored the Angels 28-11 in those 3 games.
DownSide: The Athletics have not been playing the type of baseball they would like to be and have lost 8 of their last 10 games.
UpSide: Cespedes is back in the middle of the A’s line-up and the team is coming off of a morale-changing walk-off win.
FanSide: Lets go Oakland!
Probable Pitchers
Tuesday, April 30, 7:05 PM PDT
Garrett Richards (1-1, 3.65 ERA) vs. Jarrod Parker (0-4, 8.10 ERA)
Wednesday, May 1, 12:35 PM PDT
C.J. Wilson (2-0, 4.30 ERA) vs. Tommy Milone (3-2, 3.38 ERA)