Happy Friday A’s fans,
Earlier this week, the Athletics began a six-game stretch at home by losing two of three to the two-time defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Tonight, they welcome the Miami Marlins for the opener of a three-game series. The Marlins, who have an even lower payroll than the A’s, posted an MLB-best 20-6 record in June to jump into the National League Wild Card picture.
Miami’s pitching staff, which has the 11th best ERA in the sport, played a major role in the club’s
stellar performance over the past few weeks. While the A’s will not have to face standout right-hander Max Meyer, they’ll still draw the Marlins’ Dominican duo of Sandy Alcántara and Eury Pérez on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Meanwhile, only the Colorado Rockies have a higher ERA and have given up more runs than the Athletics’ much-maligned pitching staff. Yes, the team is playing in a hitter-friendly minor league park for a second straight season. However, that does not change the fact that these are major-league pitchers league pitchers who have earned their way to baseball’s highest level. As a result, they should be capable of making the necessary adjustments to limit the damage in a hitter-friendly environment.
Currently, it seems like the Athletics can only count on J.T. Ginn and Gage Jump to consistently deliver quality starts. On Wednesday night, Ginn shut down the Dodgers for six innings, helping his team avoid the series sweep.
Two nights prior, Jump endured his first rough outing against a Dodgers’ lineup loaded with star power, so the result was not entirely surprising. The promising rookie left-hander will look to bounce back in Sunday’s homestand finale. Before that, the A’s will turn to right-handers Jack Perkins and Aaron Civale to start tonight and tomorrow night.
Offensively, the Marlins are the opposite of the Athletics. Miami relies on speed to manufacture runs, leading the majors with 94 stolen bases this season. In contrast, the A’s have some speed, most notably center fielder Henry Bolte, but their offense is still driven primarily by the long ball.
The Marlins won’t make it easy, but there would be no better way for the Athletics to celebrate the Fourth of July than by putting their June struggles behind them and taking the series.
A’s Coverage:
- Three Things To Watch For The Athletics In July
- Julyeball Scout Report As Hopes, Like The Sun, Sink Slowly In The West
- Thoughts And Well Wishes For A’s Prospect Ryan Lasko
- A’s Take Series Finale, Beat Dodgers 7-1
- Dodgers Overwhelm A’s Once Again
- A’s roster moves: Massive Shakeup
- A’s To Trade Brett Harris To Red Sox
- It’s Harder To Win When You Don’t Understand Your Own Personnel
- Fun Parallels To 2012 Emerging
- What Kade Morris’ Role Will Look Like for A’s in Future
- Some Easy Fixes Rocket Science Aren’t
- Athletics’ Devin Taylor Emerges As All-Around Talent
- From celebratory pool dip to the A’s, Meneses’ journey back to Majors a memorable one
- Athletics Could Deal Hottest Triple-A Bat This Summer
- Status Report: Uncertainty Persists In 5 Places On The Diamond
MLB News and Interest:
- How will the logjam in AL postseason race impact Trade Deadline?
- MLB 2026: Player every team should trade or trade for in July
- MLB’s Labor Philosophy: A Reader’s Guide
- The Draft Top 250 is out! For the 1st time all year, there’s a new No. 1
- The Draft is just over a week away! Find out if the landscape has changed with our latest mock
- Rangers’ Corey Seager back on IL with lower back inflammation
- Red Sox Place Connelly Early On Injured List
- 2026 All-Star Futures Game rosters revealed
- Mets owner says changes need to be made, but Stearns is staying
- MLBPA seeks larger roster sizes, demotion protection in proposal
- Trade rumors: Skubal, Angels, Yankees, starting pitchers
- Dodgers’ Dave Roberts fastest manager to reach 1,000 career wins
- Cavalli, Contreras receive 7-game suspensions after benches-clearing incident
- Today in Baseball History
Best of X:
Ryan Lasko injury update:
Funny exchange between these two A’s players. Lawrence Butler would greatly benefit from listening to Shea Langeliers’ advice as Butler’s batting average is still below the Mendoza line.
The American League West remains up in the air with only the Los Angeles Angels out of the divisional race at this point in the season.
Injuries have taken a toll on this team and could be one reason behind its June swoon. The return of several key players over the next two months could fuel a rise back up the standings.
