The Oakland Athletics head to Southern California for four games with the Los Angeles Angels following a brutal three game sweep at the hands of the San Francisco Giants. The A's find themselves in a tough slide as they have lost five straight to drop to 22-25. Entering Wednesday's game with the Minnesota Twins, the A's were 22-20 and had a share of first place. Five days later the A's are 22-25, two games out of first and in last place in what is turning into a hideous AL West race.
The A's find themselves in a bizarre position because in spite of their struggles, they are really not all that worse off for wear in the AL West. Of course, that is a bit vexing because it's easy to think things are alright when you're only two games back of first place. The A's starting pitching kept the team in the games this weekend, but the offense was pretty abysmal all weekend long. And even when the offense got something going, the bullpen came in and was blown up. All in all, this is the worst stretch of A's baseball this season.
This week's series will provide some answers to one question the A's face: who will replace Tyson Ross and Brandon McCarthy. The team recalled Josh Outman from Sacramento late yesterday and designated Jerry Blevins for assignment. Outman will make his first major league start since 2009 Monday night against Jered Weaver. The A's have yet to announce their plans for Tuesday's starter in place of Ross.
Current Series
4 game series vs Angels @ Angel Stadium of Anaheim
|
Oakland Athletics Monday, May 23, 2011, 7:05 PM PDT Josh Outman vs Jered Weaver Mostly clear. Winds blowing out to left field at 5-10 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 60. Complete Coverage > |
||
| Tue 05/24 - Pitcher X vs. Dan Haren | 7:05 PM PDT | |
| Wed 05/25 - Trevor Cahill vs. Ervin Santana | 7:05 PM PDT | |
| Thu 05/26 - Brett Anderson vs. Joel Pineiro | 12:35 PM PDT | |
