The Oakland Series, August 3-5

[Frobby]

Wilson (1-1, 2.12) vs. Chavez (5-10, 3.53)

Gonzalez (9-7, 4.28) vs. Bassitt (0-4, 3.10)

Chen (5-6, 3.24) vs. Graveman (6-7, 3.84)

Chavez has struggled in most of his last 7 starts, seeing his ERA increase by a full run in that span. Wilson has looked good in his sporadic call-ups.

Bassitt was moved to the rotation at the end of June and has pitched well. In his four losses, the A's scored a total of 5 runs. Gonzalez has been spotty lately and needs to get back on track.

Graveman had been struggling a bit lately but was very good his last time out. Chen had one of his worst starts of the year last time out, but figures to do well in the A's cavernous ballpark.

The A's offense struggled mightily in July, even worse than ours. They just traded Zobrist, so their lineup does not feature anyone with an OPS over .800, and only two hitters (Reddick and Vogt) who have double-digit homers. These figure to be typical low-scoring Oakland games, though if we can get into Oakland's bullpen, they are not very strong, especially since they just traded Clippard.

Overall, this is a series that we need to win, and should win. I just hope we don't swing for the fences too much, since that doesn't really work well in Oakland.

[abbott]

Just need to win each series. Team needs to play like they expect to win. This year is ripe for the taking

[O's are Legends]

A homer happy team that doesn't walk much is never a good thing in the O.co

O's have lost 17 of their last 23 in Oakland. Not sure if they should win but I'll be hopeful. As OFFNY says one game at a time.

Oakland is 23-31 at home this year. The O's are 21-31 on the road. Will see how it plays out.

[sportsfan8703]

I expect Chen to dominate on his two road starts. Big ballparks. I wouldn't read too much into the lousy SP recently. That was just the Tigers lineup in a small ball park. They are stacked. Our pitchers should be able to navigate oaklands lineup for three quality starts. We need to bring the bats and the defense. I wouldn't mind seeing lough in rf this series. It will really help out Wilson and Chen.

[JR Oriole]

A homer happy team that doesn't walk much is never a good thing in the O.co

O's have lost 17 of their last 23 in Oakland. Not sure if they should win but I'll be hopeful. As OFFNY says one game at a time.

Oakland is 23-31 at home this year. The O's are 21-31 on the road. Will see how it plays out.

Is it just 17 of our last 23? It feels like we have lost about 50 of our last 60 out there. When they had mega-talented rosters from 2000 - 2002, it made sense....but I feel like they have always given us fits even with their "who the hell are the guys" rosters they have trotted out there in the last decade.

[Machado13]

@ChrisCotillo: To clear up confusion: Athletics have been awarded Valencia on the claim, source says. No trade needs to be worked out. He's an Athletic.

Need 2 out of 3 this series. Sweep would be awesome but the Os never sweep Oakland much less at that house of horrors.

[Frobby]

Is it just 17 of our last 23? It feels like we have lost about 50 of our last 60 out there. When they had mega-talented rosters from 2000 - 2002, it made sense....but I feel like they have always given us fits even with their "who the hell are the guys" rosters they have trotted out there in the last decade.

Well, from 2003-06, the A's won 88 once and 91+ three times. Then they had a lull from 2007-11 but still won more games than the Orioles each year in that stretch. They made the playoffs in 2012-14, winning more games than we did in 2012-13. So basically, they had a better record than us every single year from 1999 through 2013.

[Babypowder]

Wilson (1-1, 2.12) vs. Chavez (5-10, 3.53)

Gonzalez (9-7, 4.28) vs. Bassitt (0-4, 3.10)

Chen (5-6, 3.24) vs. Graveman (6-7, 3.84)

Chavez has struggled in most of his last 7 starts, seeing his ERA increase by a full run in that span. Wilson has looked good in his sporadic call-ups.

Bassitt was moved to the rotation at the end of June and has pitched well. In his four losses, the A's scored a total of 5 runs. Gonzalez has been spotty lately and needs to get back on track.

Graveman had been struggling a bit lately but was very good his last time out. Chen had one of his worst starts of the year last time out, but figures to do well in the A's cavernous ballpark.

The A's offense struggled mightily in July, even worse than ours. They just traded Zobrist, so their lineup does not feature anyone with an OPS over .800, and only two hitters (Reddick and Vogt) who have double-digit homers. These figure to be typical low-scoring Oakland games, though if we can get into Oakland's bullpen, they are not very strong, especially since they just traded Clippard.

Overall, this is a series that we need to win, and should win. I just hope we don't swing for the fences too much, since that doesn't really work well in Oakland.

We must have a very different definition of "looking good". I know Wilson's ERA suggests he has been good but a 4.90 xFIP and a 2.12 K/9 (4 K in 17 IP) don't look good to me. He's looked lucky, and likely to get hit around soon.

[Scrat1]

I'm not sure the statistics will back this up, but it seems to me the Athletics almost always give the Orioles a very hard time, no matter how good they are. Conversely, it seems like we always steamroll the White Sox, regardless of how good either team is.

[spiritof66]

It seems that every year, at some point or points during an A's-O's series at the Coliseum, I tell myself that the Orioles are losing a winnable game because they are unable or unwilling to alter their hitting approach in recognition of the difficulty of hitting balls out of the park.

I thought I'd get it in early this year.

[weams]

It seems that every year, at some point or points during an A's-O's series at the Coliseum, I tell myself that the Orioles are losing a winnable game because they are unable or unwilling to alter their hitting approach in recognition of the difficulty of hitting balls out of the park.

I thought I'd get it in early this year.

Thank you. I appreciate it. Maybe if we try to bunt more...

[Stotle]

Missing Gray is nice. Graveman can get into trouble when he misses spots but can also exploit aggressive teams when he's on with his mutli-look FB/SL/CT combo. Sweepable series; seems like one you have to at least win during a push down the stretch. Must see TV!

[blangtang]

How does Wilson get on the roster tonight? Or is he already there?

I see Brach,O'Day,Roe, and Gyvens (the righties) and Britton and Matusz as the lefties. Am I missing a bullpen guy? Just curious, what they do after tonights starts since wilson won't be around?

[Morgan423]

As far as injuries go, it looks like Reddick is day to day with a back strain.

Pat Vinditte is finishing a rehab and may be activated during this series.

[scOtt]

How does Wilson get on the roster tonight? Or is he already there?

I see Brach,O'Day,Roe, and Gyvens (the righties) and Britton and Matusz as the lefties. Am I missing a bullpen guy? Just curious, what they do after tonights starts since wilson won't be around?

Rondon was sent back down.