Game #42: Athletics at Dodgers Game Thread

Heading down south to take on the star-studded Los Angeles squad

The A’s are back on the road but they won’t be traveling too far. The club is in Los Angeles to begin a fresh series against the reigning-champion Los Angeles Dodgers for the first of three games.

It won’t be an easy matchup as the Dodgers currently hold the best record in the sport but the Athletics are ready for their California rivals. They’re entering tonight on a losing streak and went just 2-4 on the recent home stand. Los Angeles on the other hand has gone 11-4 over their last 15 games and will look to win their second straight game tonight.

Lefty Jeffrey Springs will kick off the series as he makes his ninth start of the year. The 32-year-old veteran has had a rough start to the season but he’s put together back-to-back quality outings for the first time all year so he enters tonight on a roll. He has a 4.81 ERA on the season and he’ll be hoping to lower that number and pass a tough test that is the Dodgers. A good start to tonight will be critical, especially with the star-studded top of the Los Angeles’ lineup.

The A’s starting lineup for tonight looks like this:

No surprise here. Facing a dangerous team like the Dodgers the Athletics need to put their best foot forward. That means Jacob Wilson at the top of the batting order. That means Miguel Andujar at third base. Manager Mark Kotsay did a good job alternating left- and right-handed batters as Shea Langeliers and Brent Rooker are the only same-handed batters hitting back-to-back in the lineup tonight.

Taking the hill for the home team will be right-hander Landon Knack. The second-year starter had a quality rookie season last year but has a 5.40 ERA in three starts this season (4.61 overall in four outings). Los Angeles’ rotation is full of quality starters so the team will need to take advantage of Knack if they want to get this series started on a winning note.

Los Angeles’ batting order for tonight’s contest:

Los Angeles is missing a couple regulars with Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on the IL. The A’s will get lucky they’ll avoid them this series but there’s still plenty of dangerous hitters in the lineup, namely Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. Springs will have a tough time against those three MVP-caliber players.

Let’s go A’s!