Elephant Rumblings: A’s Back In Bay Area

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 15: Aaron Civale #45 of the Athletics pitches in the top of the fourth inning against the San Francisco Giants at Sutter Health Park on May 15, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Justine Willard/Athletics/Getty Images) | Getty Images Happy Tuesday A’s fans! The At

Baseball Zone

SEE ALL

Trendline

Ernie Clement and Shohei Ohtani Lead 2026 MLB All-Star Game Voting

SB Nation

Nasim Nunez’s bat has come around for the Washington Nationals in June

Discover daily

Why Don Baylor Learned Adaptability at a Young Age

What is the story about?

Happy Tuesday A’s fans!

The Athletics’ just wrapped up a disappointing series against the division-rival Angels this past weekend. The A’s split the four-game set, but they let the series finale split through their fingers. It’s not the end of the world, but it’s tough to drop those games against a lesser opponent that has one of the worst records in the sport.

Time to flush it and get ready for the Giants. The A’s are back in their old stomping grounds as we have three games set to get going over

the next few days. The Giants, like the Angles, are one of the worst teams in the league and likely sellers next month. The A’s can’t afford to be letting games like this go if they want to stick in the playoff hunt into September.

The Giants haven’t had a great season so far. Led by a rookie manager in Tony Vitello with no professional experience, the Giants’ veteran-led roster has disappointed on and off the field. At 31-46 they’re just one game ahead of the Colorado Rockies for the worst record in the entire sport. It’s not as if they haven’t tried as their $231.9 million payroll sits at 11th in baseball. A huge part of their problems can be attributed to the struggles of their most expensive players, Willy Adames, Rafael Devers, and old friend of the Green & Gold Matt Chapman. The recent controversy regarding the players’ wearing the Pride Hat has also now caused fans even more stress as the focus has turned off the field (including the Vice President’s view on the matter).

It hasn’t been all sadness and rain for the Giants. Star prospect Bryce Eldridge looks like the real deal as he’s finally being given a chance to play at the big league level. Swiss army knife Casey Schmitt is in the midst of a breakout year at the plate with 16 long balls. Second baseman Luis Arraez has rediscovered his defense while being coached under another former friend in Ron Washington. Outfielder Jung-hoo Lee is second in all of baseball with a .320 batting average. And former Athletics’ first round pick Daniel Susac has held his own as one of the main catching options.

Perhaps more disappointing than the offense has been the pitching, which has always been a strength for them pitching in that cavernous ballpark. Staff ace Logan Webb has pitched well, but outside of him their starting rotation has been roughed up. The group’s 4.63 ERA is ahead of only the Rockies and Mets in the National League. Landon Roupp and Robbie Ray haven’t been dominant but have held their own, but offseason pickups Tyler Mahle and Adrian Houser have been problems for them on the backend, so much so that Houser is now in the bullpen after inking a two-year, $22 million deal this winter. Not the return on investment they were likely hoping for.

Luckily for the A’s they’ll miss Webb during this series. Tonight’s starting matchup will pit veterans Aaron Civale and Ray. Ray has a lower ERA on the season but Civale was pitching fantastically before some recent struggles made his overall stat line look worse. Then it’ll be the rookie Gage Jump making his first start at Oracle Park, and he’ll be opposed by Mahle. And then the series wraps on Thursday afternoon with a pitching duel between lefty Jeffrey Springs and the right-handed Roupp.

First pitch is at 6:45 tonight. We’re just a game and a half back of the Mariners for the AL West lead. Gotta rack up a couple wins, at least. Have a great day everyone.