The Oakland Athletics open up the second half of the 2011 season looking to build some momentum after a first half that ended with a bit of a splat. The A's lost four straight at the division-leading Texas Rangers to fall 12 games back of first and 14 games under .500. The 2011 MLB trade deadline is fast approaching and the A's are quickly looking to be sellers when July 31 gets here.
The A's have reached this lowly point in part because their offense has struggled mightily throughout the first half of the season. They won't get much in the way of a reprieve this weekend as they get to face the best the Angels have to offer. The Angels will send out former A's ace Dan Haren, All Star starting pitcher Jered Weaver, Joel Pineiro, and Ervin Santana who hasn't been dominant but can mystify the A's at times.
This series features a bit of quirk as the A's and Angels will square off in an old school double-header on Saturday. The first game will kick off at 1:05pm pacific and the second game will start approximately 35 minutes after the completion of the first game. Both games will be on television as FOX will air the first one and CSN California will air the second one. It could create some interesting strategy throughout the series as the teams will have to deal with the implications a double-header can have on the bullpen. I'd imagine both managers will be hoping for plenty of innings from Haren and McCarthy Friday night.
Current Series
4 game series vs Angels @ Overstock.com Coliseum
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Los Angeles Angels Friday, Jul 15, 2011, 7:05 PM PDT Dan Haren vs Brandon McCarthy Partly cloudy. Winds blowing out to center field at 10-15 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 65. Complete Coverage > |
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| Sat 07/16 - Trevor Cahill vs. Jered Weaver | 4:05 PM PDT | |
| Sat 07/16 - Rich Harden vs. Ervin Santana | 4:35 PM PDT | |
| Sun 07/17 - Gio Gonzalez vs. Joel Pineiro | 1:05 PM PDT | |
