Welcome to Tuesday everyone! Happy Lou Gehrig Day!
The A’s are set to begin their next new series, hitting the road to take on the Chicago Cubs in the first of three mid-week contests. The Athletics are coming off a terrible 1-5 homestand that saw them drop from first place in the AL West to third behind the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers. The A’s are desperate for a win to start this road trip on a high note and they’re running into a Cubs squad that, like the A’s, began the year hot and in first place before
going through a recent rough patch and falling in the standings. After the Cubs the A’s will head south to Texas for three games this weekend against the Houston Astros, the second time the two clubs will meet this season.
Tonight’s series begins with the Athletics’ young starter Gage Jump, who is set to get the ball for his second career start. The young lefty showed a lot of promise in his first big league outing but also had some expected struggles in a loss to the Mariners. He pitched five full frames, collecting five punchouts while only issuing one free pass. He did allow four runs on nine hits so he’ll be hoping to keep the contact down this evening against a Cubs offense that has never seen him before. How does Jump perform in his second start now that he’s got his debut nerves out of the way?
Jump will be opposed by a veteran of the game tonight in right-hander Jameson Taillon. The 34-year-old is now in his 10th big league season with his third team, and his fourth year in a Cubbies uniform. Coming off two strong seasons for Chicago Taillon has seen some regression this season as he’ll enter tonight’s game with a 5.37 ERA in his 11 starts. He’s especially gotten hit hard in recent outings as he’s allowed 16 runs across his past 14 2/3 innings of work spanning three starts. For his career Taillon has a 4.62 ERA in five career starts against the A’s, including a start last year where he pitched six innings of two-run ball in April.
Wednesday’s contest sees another left-hander on the mound for the road team as Jeffrey Springs gets the ball for the 13th time this year. After a hot start to his season Springs hit a rough patch and since then has been more hot and cold on the mound. He’s coming off a so-so start last time out after he allowed five runs but only two of those were earned. The defense has been an issue in recent weeks and it’s been hurting Springs especially hard. The 33-year-old will be hoping to get things back on track this evening against a Chicago club he has minimal experience against (4 games, 1 start, 5.68 ERA).
Springs will be opposed by righty Colin Rea. The 35-year-old has been around since 2015 but has had an up-and-down career overall but has found an extra gear as he enters the twilight of his career. He enters tonight with a 4.70 ERA as an innings eater at the back of the Chicago rotation. He’s put together back-to-back quality starts entering Wednesday’s contest and the A’s will be hoping to knock him back off his game early on. He’s pitched twice against the A’s, one start and one relief appearance spanning nine innings and allowing four runs.
The series wraps up on Thursday and while the A’s don’t have a named starter for the finale all signs point to rookie Kade Morris getting the ball for his major league debut. The right-hander is one of the Athletics’ top pitching prospects and has been pitching well at Triple-A this year. Obviously the Cubs wont have any experience facing him but it’ll also be his debut so it wouldn’t be a shock to see some rookie yips. The A’s need their young pitchers to step up though and it’s a great opportunity for both team and player to see what they have in Morris.
Whoever the Thursday pitcher is, they’ll be going up against Chicago right-hander Shota Imanaga. The Japanese product is in his third year atop the Chicago rotation but has taken a step back in each year in MLB. This season he’s posted a 4.37 ERA in 12 starts, though that doesn’t do his season justice. After getting tagged for four runs in his season debut, Imanaga posted a dominant month of April as he allowed only seven runs in five starts. May began in the same way but in his most recent three starts he’s gotten absolutely torched, allowing eight, seven, and five runs in his past three outings, respectively. The A’s may be running into Imanaga at the perfect time.
That’s the likely pitching matchup for this upcoming Cubs series, but we should all be on the lookout for some big roster changes this afternoon. Manager Mark Kotsay said a major shakeup was on the way after the most recent lackluster homestand. How far those changes go will be an interesting storyline this afternoon.
First pitch is at 5:05 everyone. Have a great day A’s fans.
A’s Coverage:
- Three Things To Watch For The Athletics In June
- The A’s Inability To Play Well At Home Is Embarrassing
- A’s Unravel in Series and Homestand Finale
- Road, sweet road? A’s ready for reset after rough homestand
- Ginn’s glow-up: A’s hurler coming into his own at right time
- Athletics Early MLB Draft Preview
- The A’s may have finally found their new leadoff hitter
- A’s drop the game and Series to the Mariners, fall into second place
- Wilson takes swings in next step toward return from IL
MLB News and Interest:
- Diamondbacks To Reinstate Pavin Smith From 60-Day IL
- More to celebrate! deGrom earns 100th career win on son’s 3rd birthday
- Rangers Place Chris Martin On IL With Shoulder Impingement
- Carlos Carrasco Elects Free Agency
- Red Sox great Ortiz says owner John Henry ‘worried’ about team
- MLBPA negotiator sees clear distance between 2 sides of CBA
- Pirates Trade Justin Lawrence To Twins
- Mariners’ Josh Naylor exits with back spasms after hitting HR
- Today in Baseball History
Best of X:
What changes are we expecting today?
How about a massive throwback?
