The Oakland Athletics send out Trevor Cahill Saturday evening to face the Philadelphia Phillies in hopes of ending the A’s three-game winning streak. The A’s interleague series road struggles have continued as they’ve now lost six of seven road games against National League opponents.
Trevor Cahill makes his 17th start of the season in a run that has been split between fantastic and mediocre. Through his first ten starts, Cahill gave up more than two earned runs in only one start. In his next five starts, Cahill gave up at least three earned runs in each start. More importantly, his walk totals climbed precipitously. Through his first ten starts he walked 20 batters in 65 1/3 innings. In his next five starts he walked 21 batters in 26 2/3 innings.
In Cahill’s most recent start, he threw eight innings of one-run ball against a struggling San Francisco Giants offense. He scattered five hits and one walk and appeared to have regained the command and dominance he had lost for five games. The question now is whether he is actually back on track, or whether it was more a product of a poor Giants offense.
Saturday’s start against the Phillies will help in that determination as they roll out some heavy hitters. Their offense has actually struggled a bit this season as they are 14th in the majors in runs scored. Either way, guys like Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, and noted A’s killer Placido Polanco will all be tough outs for Cahill.