The Oakland Athletics wrap up a three game set with the Cleveland Indians at 12:35 pacific on Thursday. The A’s send out Brett Anderson to face Jeanmar Gomez in the rubber match as the A’s look to get two games over .500 for the first time this season.
The A’s are giving Coco Crisp and Hideki Matsui the day off as they roll out Ryan Sweeney in center and Josh Willingham at designated hitter. Andy LaRoche is once again starting at third base as Kevin Kouzmanoff may very well have lost his starting third base job. Of course, Bob Geren has struggled to figure out exactly is going on at third base. Andy LaRoche got playing time all around the infield early in the season, but then sat for a week. Now Kouzmanoff will have sat five straight games to start the month of May.
The A’s have some talented bats at the AAA level, but the team does not have much in the way of a corner infielder. Their best hitter at AAA is Adrian Cardenas who is turning into a full-time designated hitter. Their best infielder is Jemile Weeks who is the second baseman of the future.
Oakland Athletics
1. David DeJesus (L) RF
2. Daric Barton (L) 1B
3. Conor Jackson® LF
4. Josh Willingham® DH
5. Ryan Sweeney (L) CF
6. Kurt Suzuki® C
7. Mark Ellis® 2B
8. Andy LaRoche® 3B
9. Cliff Pennington (S) SS