Athletics blanked by Orioles in matinee

The Oakland Athletics dropped today's matchup against the Orioles, losing 7-0 and falling to 11-17 on the year. Orioles' starter Cole Irvin was masterful, going 7 shutout innings with just 4 hits and 5 strikeouts to earn his second win of the season.

Athletics' lefty JP Sears wasn't as lucky. Sears got roughed up by the Orioles' offense, allowing 7 runs on 8 hits and a walk in 6.1 innings. Sears was able to notch 8 strikeouts on the day but it wasn't nearly enough to get the job done.

Despite Sears' rough outing, the A's were done in once again by their lackluster offense. The A's managed just 5 singles and only had one runner in scoring position all afternoon. They grounded into three double plays and never posed a real threat to the Orioles' pitching staff.

Michael Kelly did come in and keep the bullpen vibes alive, throwing 1.2 scoreless with a hit, a strikeout, and no walks. The A's bullpen has thrown 99 innings and so far they've posted a 2.91 ERA, good for 8th best in the majors. Their 3.37 FIP, the 4th best mark in the league, shows it isn't all luck.

Unfortunately, the starting rotation has posted an ERA of 4.66, good for 26th. The starters have the third lowest strikeout rate in the league and outside of Paul Blackburn's run of success, have struggled across the board.

They'll need to be on their A-game if they want to steal the series in tomorrow's rubber match. Blackburn is scheduled to take the mound for the A's. He's coming off a solid outing and brings a 2-1 record and a 2.03 ERA to the table.

Albert Suarez will get the nod for the Orioles. He's started just two games for the Orioles this year but has yet to allow a run. He's been the break glass in case of emergency guy for a team that's lost a number of it's starting pitchers to injury over the past month.

If Blackburn can keep the Orioles offense at bay for most of the afternoon, then the A's will have a chance. The A's haven't shown the ability to win high scoring games though, so we'll have to wait and see how it plays out. First pitch is scheduled for 10:05 am PDT.