Game Thread #4: Athletics vs Angels

Today is the day the series is salvaged, and the A’s can reflect upon the opening series with a wide range of positives, albeit alongside a few glaring negatives. Ultimately, the team has looked solid through two of three games, with one game containing the expected aches and pains from a team filled with youth and raw, perhaps unrefined, potential. That they are keeping pace with a team comprised entirely of seasoned veterans in the early going is commendable in itself.

The final game of this four game set is overflowing with mystery. Will Daniel Gossett, the A’s starter, be able to take the steps forward to become a mainstay in the A’s rotation now that a spot has been opened up for him, or will he merely be a placeholder, keeping the rotation spot warm for Trevor Cahill? Will Shohei Ohtani improve from his disastrous spring training with all the baseball world watching? Can the A’s collectively recover from a clunker of a game yesterday and return to the slick-fielding, power-hitting, excitement-inducing team that they can be?

Those answers are coming soon enough. First pitch is just after 1:00. Lineups are below.

After mostly staying stagnant these last two games, the A’s have tweaked their lineup. Let’s see if they can tie the series up! Go Oakland!