The Oakland Athletics open a three game series with the Baltimore Orioles at the Oakland Coliseum Friday night at 7:05pm on CSN California. The A’s are coming off a four game series split with the Los Angeles Angels and will be looking to gain some momentum before the AL East-leading Yankees come to town next week.
The A’s send out Gio Gonzalez to face Orioles starter Chris Tillman. Although Tillman’s overall numbers aren’t spectacular, he’s been quite solid his last three starts. Since getting blasted by Kansas City on May 5, Tillman has pitched 16 innings giving up two runs over that span against Seattle, Boston and Washington. In his brief 2+ year career, Tillman has yet to face the A’s.
The A’s are giving Coco Crisp the night off and have moved David DeJesus into the leadoff spot, while starting Ryan Sweeney in center field. The moves make some sense as those two have been the A’s two best hitters in the month of May. DeJesus has a line of .301/.370/.589 in 73 at bats, while Ryan Sweeney has a line of .372/.449/.419 in 43 at bats. The A’s are looking for any sort of offensive spark, so getting their two best bats right now into the lineup makes all the sense in the world.
Oakland Athletics
1. David DeJesus RF
2. Daric Barton 1B
3. Ryan Sweeney CF
4. Josh Willingham LF
5. Hideki Matsui DH
6. Kurt Suzuki C
7. Mark Ellis 2B
8. Andy LaRoche 3B
9. Cliff Pennington SS
Baltimore Orioles
1. Robert Andino 2B
2. Adam Jones CF
3. Nick Markakis RF
4. Vladimir Guerrero DH
5. Matt Wieters C
6. Nolan Reimold LF
7. Mark Reynolds 3B
8. J.J. Hardy SS
9. Jake Fox 1B