The Oakland Athletics wrapped up a nine-game road trip yesterday with a series victory over the Chicago White Sox to improve to 6-6 on the season. Now they head home for six games against the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox looking to gain some more ground on the first place Texas Rangers. The A's were 3-3 against the Tigers in 2010, winning three of four at Detroit and losing both games in Oakland.
The Tigers are off to a rough start, sitting in fourth place in the AL Central at 5-7. They've been relatively healthy but haven't been able to put together consistent performances. Outfielder Magglio Ordonez could be back this weekend as he recovers from an inflamed bursa sac in his right ankle. Ordonez has struggled a bit this season but is always a dangerous threat at the plate.
Tonight's opening matchup features Gio Gonzalez and Phil Coke, with the A's sitting as a fairly sizable favorite. Gonzalez is off to a red hot start sitting at 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA and will look to continue his hot start. Coke is 0-2 with a 4.00 ERA and will be making his second start and fourth overall appearance for the Tigers. The rest of the weekend features Brandon McCarthy-Rick Porcello, Dallas Braden-Justin Verlander, and Trevor Cahill-Brad Penny. I'd imagine the A's will be favored tomorrow and Sunday, with Verlander potentially being a slim favorite on Saturday.
Current Series
4 game series vs Tigers @ Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
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Detroit Tigers Thursday, Apr 14, 2011, 7:05 PM PDT Phil Coke vs Gio Gonzalez Partly cloudy. Winds blowing from left to right field at 5-15 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 60. Complete Coverage > |
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| Fri 04/15 - Brandon McCarthy vs. Rick Porcello | 7:05 PM PDT | |
| Sat 04/16 - Dallas Braden vs. Justin Verlander | 6:05 PM PDT | |
| Sun 04/17 - Trevor Cahill vs. Brad Penny | 1:05 PM PDT | |
