And secure a series win to boot
Oakland has a chance to secure their second straight series victory today with a win(!). They’ve taken the first two of four against the Chicago White Sox and today they go for three straight. It would be their first 3-game winning streak since June when they won seven straight.
To do that they’ll need a strong outing from lefty JP Sears. Even though his win-loss record is an ugly 2-10, that doesn’t tell the story of Sears’ rookie season. Barely able to squeak into the starting rotation out of camp, Sears remains the only starter from that season-opening rotation. He’s generally been solid this year as he’s sporting a 4.61 ERA. He’s slowing down considerably down the stretch here though; in his last seven starts he has a 6.43 ERA, including giving up seven runs his last time out. The club will be hoping that the lefty rookie can turn it around here against a struggling White Sox club.
The Oakland hitters seem to like Chicago. They’ve scored 20 runs over the first two games, including a 12-run outburst last night. They tagged up White Sox starter Dylan Cease, last year’s AL Cy Young runner-up. No one had a bigger day than shortstop Nick Allen, who went 4-5 with a home run and five RBI’s. With another shortstop prospect knocking at the door Nicky Knocks needs to keep it up if he wants to hold off Darrel Hernaiz.
Him and the club should have an even easier time today against Touki Toussaint, a right-hander who’s had a rough year and is himself coming off a rough start. With the way the club is hitting they should have another big day ahead of them. Let’s hope the squad saved some runs for today’s game.
Game Date/Time: Saturday, August 26, 4:10 p.m. PDT
Location: Guaranteed Rate Field, Chicago, Illinois
TV: NBCSCA
Streaming: MLB.tv
Radio: A’s Cast, Bloomberg 960 AM / 103.7 HD2
