The A’s will go for their season-high fifth win in a row
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After rain washed out Thursday’s scheduled series opener http://www.falconscheapshops.com/cheap-authentic-kaleb-mcgary-jersey , the Oakland Athletics and Chicago White Sox will play a day-night doubleheader on Friday at Guaranteed Rate Field to kick off a four-game series.
Oakland (38-36) has won four straight games on four occasions this season, including its current stretch, but has yet to make it five. The A’s have outscored opponents 28-15 during this week’s streak, which includes two wins apiece against the Los Angeles Angels and San Diego Padres.
A’s hitters slugged five homers in a 12-4 rout of the Padres on Wednesday. The team already has four players with double-digit blasts including Khris Davis (20), Matt Olson (15), Jed Lowrie (11) and the injured Matt Chapman (10).
“We definitely have some power,” A’s manager Bob Melvin told the A’s official website. “That’s one of the strengths of the team.”
As Oakland is riding a hot streak, Chicago (24-49) is mired in a seven-game losing streak. A loss in the series opener would give the White Sox their worst skid of the season, which is saying something considering the club’s ugly record.
White Sox manager Rick Renteria’s club has been swept in its last two series, against the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians. In Wednesday’s series finale, Chicago managed only two hits in a 12-0 shutout loss to the Indians.
“It’s tough, but instead of getting frustrated, we have to keep working, use that feeling to work harder,” White Sox second baseman Yoan Moncada told the team’s official website. “There are still plenty of games to play, and we can improve. We can keep getting better Kendall Sheffield Jersey , and if it is not this year, then next year. But definitely the games we have this year, we have a chance to improve.”
The White Sox will turn to right-hander James Shields (2-8, 4.63 ERA) in the first game of the twin bill. The 36-year-old has pitched at least six innings in 11 consecutive starts as part of a bounce-back season atop the club’s rotation.
In his career against Oakland, Shields is 6-7 with a 4.86 ERA in 19 games (18 starts). He came in as a reliever in the 14th inning of a game against Oakland in April this season, and gave up two hits, two walks and the game-winning run in two-thirds of an inning.
The A’s will start the doubleheader with left-hander Sean Manaea (6-6, 3.56 ERA), who grew up in Northwest Indiana, not far from Chicago. The 26-year-old is off to a good start this season with 19 walks and 68 strikeouts in 93 2/3 innings.
Manaea has never faced the White Sox in his career.
In the nightcap, White Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito (4-7, 7.19 ERA) will look to improve in his 15th start of the season. The former first-round pick of the Washington Nationals (No. 16 overall in 2012) has terrific potential but has been unable to produce consistent results in his first full season in Chicago.
Poor command has plagued Giolito, who has 45 walks in 71 1/3 innings. He also has hit 10 batters, which is tied for most in the majors along with Cole Hamels of the Texas Rangers and Carlos Martinez of the St. Louis Cardinals.
This will mark the 23-year-old’s first career appearance against Oakland.
For the A’s, right-hander Chris Bassitt (0-2, 2.45 ERA) will make his third start of the season in the nightcap. The 29-year-old is seeking his first victory since Aug. 4 2015, against the Baltimore Orioles.
Bassitt is quite familiar with the White Sox, who drafted him in the 16th round in 2011 and developed him in the minors. He went 1-1 with a 3.94 ERA in six appearances (five starts) as a rookie in Chicago in 2014.
Bassitt has faced the White Sox once in his career, giving up eight hits and four runs in 5 1/3 innings on April 5, 2016. He did not get a decision in Chicago’s 5-4 victory.
On Dec. 9, 2014, the White Sox shipped Bassitt, Marcus Semien, Josh Phegley and minor leaguer Rangel Ravelo to Oakland for Jeff Samardzija and Michael Ynoa. The trade did not pan out as hoped for Chicago, which retained Samardzija for one underwhelming season before he signed as a free agent with the San Francisco Giants.
This is the first series of the season between the teams. Last year, Oakland won the season series 5-1.
HOUSTON — Heralded outfield prospect Kyle Tucker made his big-league debut Saturday for the Astros, a move that not only has implications for Tucker but two other outfielders.
With Tucker, who finished 1-for-4 with a bases-loaded walk and three strikeouts in the Astros’ 12-6 win, in the fold, outfielder Tony Kemp will see a reduction in his playing time despite providing a spark for the Astros (60-31) since his mid-May recall. Kemp has a slash line of .295/.385/.410 over 40 games.
Outfielder Jake Marisnick, meanwhile was optioned to Triple-A Fresno for a second time on the same night he delivered another sparkling play in center field.
Marisnick was batting .190 with 69 strikeouts in 163 plate appearances.
“It was hard for Jake, and it should be,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “He’s had a roller-coaster season going up and down. The first go-round he was really needing to go correct some things. The second go-around he was doing a lot better and things were out of his control a little bit as to him going down to Triple-A. There are still some offensive adjustments we want him to make.
“(Kemp) came up and won the right to stay in the big leagues. When a transaction happens, we talk a lot about the guy we sent down but the guy that we kept earned the right to be here. I’m very proud of what Tony has contributed to this team, and it hasn’t always been fair to him the last couple of years.”
Astros left-hander Dallas Keuchel (5-8, 4.12 ERA) will start the series finale against the White Sox. He has posted three quality starts in his last four outings, going 2-0 with a 2.96 ERA and 21 strikeouts across 24 1/3 innings during that stretch.
Keuchel is 3-4 with a 3.81 ERA over eight career starts against the White Sox including a 10-1 win on April 21 when he worked six innings and allowed one run on four hits and two walks with six strikeouts at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Right-hander Lucas Giolito (5-7, 6.93 ERA) gets the starting nod for Chicago (30-59). He is 2-3 with a 7.50 ERA in his last eight starts, allowing five runs or more four times.
Giolito will make his third career start against the Astros, against whom he is 0-2 with an 11.42 ERA. He was charged with nine runs on five hits and seven walks opposite Keuchel on April 21 and suffered the loss in his previous appearance at Minute Maid Park on Sept. 19, 2017, when he allowed two runs on seven hits and one walk with three strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings of a 3-1 loss.
White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson was back in the starting lineup Saturday and finished 0-for-4 with two strikeouts after sitting out the previous game to manage the soreness in his left forearm. Anderson was hit by a pitch in Thursday’s series opener.
Anderson has become a fixture in the eight-hole when Chicago faces a right-handed starter, a move designed to help amplify the depth of the White Sox lineup and provide additional opportunities atop the batting order for fellow infielders Yoan Moncada and Yolmer Sanchez.
“If you look at the lineup it just lengthens out (and) allows us to put him and keep him there,” White Sox manager Rick Renteria said of Anderson. “As long as he stays comfortable there he helps us there quite a bit. Picks up the back end of the lineup and I think we’ve gotten some benefits out of it.”
Oakland (38-36) has won four straight games on four occasions this season, including its current stretch, but has yet to make it five. The A’s have outscored opponents 28-15 during this week’s streak, which includes two wins apiece against the Los Angeles Angels and San Diego Padres.
A’s hitters slugged five homers in a 12-4 rout of the Padres on Wednesday. The team already has four players with double-digit blasts including Khris Davis (20), Matt Olson (15), Jed Lowrie (11) and the injured Matt Chapman (10).
“We definitely have some power,” A’s manager Bob Melvin told the A’s official website. “That’s one of the strengths of the team.”
As Oakland is riding a hot streak, Chicago (24-49) is mired in a seven-game losing streak. A loss in the series opener would give the White Sox their worst skid of the season, which is saying something considering the club’s ugly record.
White Sox manager Rick Renteria’s club has been swept in its last two series, against the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians. In Wednesday’s series finale, Chicago managed only two hits in a 12-0 shutout loss to the Indians.
“It’s tough, but instead of getting frustrated, we have to keep working, use that feeling to work harder,” White Sox second baseman Yoan Moncada told the team’s official website. “There are still plenty of games to play, and we can improve. We can keep getting better Kendall Sheffield Jersey , and if it is not this year, then next year. But definitely the games we have this year, we have a chance to improve.”
The White Sox will turn to right-hander James Shields (2-8, 4.63 ERA) in the first game of the twin bill. The 36-year-old has pitched at least six innings in 11 consecutive starts as part of a bounce-back season atop the club’s rotation.
In his career against Oakland, Shields is 6-7 with a 4.86 ERA in 19 games (18 starts). He came in as a reliever in the 14th inning of a game against Oakland in April this season, and gave up two hits, two walks and the game-winning run in two-thirds of an inning.
The A’s will start the doubleheader with left-hander Sean Manaea (6-6, 3.56 ERA), who grew up in Northwest Indiana, not far from Chicago. The 26-year-old is off to a good start this season with 19 walks and 68 strikeouts in 93 2/3 innings.
Manaea has never faced the White Sox in his career.
In the nightcap, White Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito (4-7, 7.19 ERA) will look to improve in his 15th start of the season. The former first-round pick of the Washington Nationals (No. 16 overall in 2012) has terrific potential but has been unable to produce consistent results in his first full season in Chicago.
Poor command has plagued Giolito, who has 45 walks in 71 1/3 innings. He also has hit 10 batters, which is tied for most in the majors along with Cole Hamels of the Texas Rangers and Carlos Martinez of the St. Louis Cardinals.
This will mark the 23-year-old’s first career appearance against Oakland.
For the A’s, right-hander Chris Bassitt (0-2, 2.45 ERA) will make his third start of the season in the nightcap. The 29-year-old is seeking his first victory since Aug. 4 2015, against the Baltimore Orioles.
Bassitt is quite familiar with the White Sox, who drafted him in the 16th round in 2011 and developed him in the minors. He went 1-1 with a 3.94 ERA in six appearances (five starts) as a rookie in Chicago in 2014.
Bassitt has faced the White Sox once in his career, giving up eight hits and four runs in 5 1/3 innings on April 5, 2016. He did not get a decision in Chicago’s 5-4 victory.
On Dec. 9, 2014, the White Sox shipped Bassitt, Marcus Semien, Josh Phegley and minor leaguer Rangel Ravelo to Oakland for Jeff Samardzija and Michael Ynoa. The trade did not pan out as hoped for Chicago, which retained Samardzija for one underwhelming season before he signed as a free agent with the San Francisco Giants.
This is the first series of the season between the teams. Last year, Oakland won the season series 5-1.
HOUSTON — Heralded outfield prospect Kyle Tucker made his big-league debut Saturday for the Astros, a move that not only has implications for Tucker but two other outfielders.
With Tucker, who finished 1-for-4 with a bases-loaded walk and three strikeouts in the Astros’ 12-6 win, in the fold, outfielder Tony Kemp will see a reduction in his playing time despite providing a spark for the Astros (60-31) since his mid-May recall. Kemp has a slash line of .295/.385/.410 over 40 games.
Outfielder Jake Marisnick, meanwhile was optioned to Triple-A Fresno for a second time on the same night he delivered another sparkling play in center field.
Marisnick was batting .190 with 69 strikeouts in 163 plate appearances.
“It was hard for Jake, and it should be,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “He’s had a roller-coaster season going up and down. The first go-round he was really needing to go correct some things. The second go-around he was doing a lot better and things were out of his control a little bit as to him going down to Triple-A. There are still some offensive adjustments we want him to make.
“(Kemp) came up and won the right to stay in the big leagues. When a transaction happens, we talk a lot about the guy we sent down but the guy that we kept earned the right to be here. I’m very proud of what Tony has contributed to this team, and it hasn’t always been fair to him the last couple of years.”
Astros left-hander Dallas Keuchel (5-8, 4.12 ERA) will start the series finale against the White Sox. He has posted three quality starts in his last four outings, going 2-0 with a 2.96 ERA and 21 strikeouts across 24 1/3 innings during that stretch.
Keuchel is 3-4 with a 3.81 ERA over eight career starts against the White Sox including a 10-1 win on April 21 when he worked six innings and allowed one run on four hits and two walks with six strikeouts at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Right-hander Lucas Giolito (5-7, 6.93 ERA) gets the starting nod for Chicago (30-59). He is 2-3 with a 7.50 ERA in his last eight starts, allowing five runs or more four times.
Giolito will make his third career start against the Astros, against whom he is 0-2 with an 11.42 ERA. He was charged with nine runs on five hits and seven walks opposite Keuchel on April 21 and suffered the loss in his previous appearance at Minute Maid Park on Sept. 19, 2017, when he allowed two runs on seven hits and one walk with three strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings of a 3-1 loss.
White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson was back in the starting lineup Saturday and finished 0-for-4 with two strikeouts after sitting out the previous game to manage the soreness in his left forearm. Anderson was hit by a pitch in Thursday’s series opener.
Anderson has become a fixture in the eight-hole when Chicago faces a right-handed starter, a move designed to help amplify the depth of the White Sox lineup and provide additional opportunities atop the batting order for fellow infielders Yoan Moncada and Yolmer Sanchez.
“If you look at the lineup it just lengthens out (and) allows us to put him and keep him there,” White Sox manager Rick Renteria said of Anderson. “As long as he stays comfortable there he helps us there quite a bit. Picks up the back end of the lineup and I think we’ve gotten some benefits out of it.”
