The Oakland Athletics and Detroit Tigers square in the first of four games with Gio Gonzalez matching up against Phil Coke. Both pitchers have very limited experience against the opposing team so there isn’t much to compare in that regard. Daric Barton has four career at bats against Coke and is 3-for-4. On the other side, Jhonny Peralta has nine career at bats against Gonzalez and is hitting .222.
The A’s offense has picked up some steam over the last few games, scoring five or more runs in three of four games. It’s not a huge sample size, but it’s a positive step forward for an offense that struggled mightily in 2010 and through the first week and a half of this season. While Hideki Matsui is starting to hit the ball, David DeJesus is struggling sitting at 8 for 41 thus far on the season. Josh Willingham is not tearing the cover off the ball, but he’s hitting with sufficient authority. DeJesus is the last of the three offseason additions who needs to get his bat going. He’ll get today off, but will see plenty of action this weekend.
Oakland Athletics
1. Coco Crisp, CF
2. Daric Barton, 1B
3. Conor Jackson, RF
4. Josh Willingham, LF
5. Hideki Matsui, DH
6. Mark Ellis, 2B
7. Kurt Suzuki, C
8. Andy LaRoche, 3B
9. Cliff Pennington, SS
Detroit Tigers
1. Austin Jackson, CF
2. Casper Wells, RF
3. Ryan Raburn, LF
4. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
5. Victor Martinez, C
6. Jhonny Peralta, SS
7. Brennan Boesch DH
8. Brandon Inge, 3B
9. Ramon Santiago, 2B