The surprising Athletics head out on a 10-game road trip.
The Oakland Athletics will head out on a 10-game road trip Friday when they begin a three-game series against the Cleveland Guardians.
Despite their 8-11 record, the Athletics have been surprisingly competitive over the first three weeks of the season. Oakland avoided a sweep against the St. Louis Cardinals with a 6-3 win Wednesday. Still, the two losses in that series were competitive as they fell 3-1 in the opener Monday and 3-2 on Tuesday.
The performance of the pitching staff has been the biggest surprise through the early going. The A’s currently rank ninth in the majors with a 3.72 ERA and a 3.59 FIP. The bullpen ranks third in the majors with a 2.58 ERA.
Esteury Ruiz returned to the majors for the start of the Cardinals series and is 2-for-7 at the plate with a pair of home runs. The Athletics need to find some punch offensively. Tyler Nevin has given them a bit of a boost with a 121 wRC+ over his first 12 games. Shea Langeliers and Abraham Toro are the only other A’s hitters with a wRC+ above league average.
The Guardians took three of four from the Athletics in Oakland to start the season. They have continued to play well and will enter Friday with a 13-6 record and a one game lead in the AL Central. They just took three of four from the Red Sox and are 6-4 over their last 10 games.
Friday, April 19, 4:10 p.m. PDT (NBCSCA)
Joe Boyle (2023: 3 GS, 12.2 IP, 24.6 K%, 13.1 BB%, 5.68 ERA, 3.01 FIP)
Rookie right-hander Joe Boyle will get the start in Friday’s opener. Boyle got shelled in his first start of the season against Boston allowing seven earned runs in just 2 2/3 innings. In two starts since, he has allowed one earned run and struck out 11 over 10 innings. There is no questioning Boyle’s stuff it is just a matter of whether he can improve the command enough to be successful.
Tristan McKenzie (2023: 3 GS, 13.0 IP, 8.1 K%, 19.4 BB%, 6.23 ERA, 7.25 FIP)
The Guardians will go with right-hander Triston McKenzie in Friday’s opener. McKenzie has had an up and down start to the season. He allowed four runs over 3 1/3 innings in his debut against the Mariners. He then spun 5 2/3 scoreless innings against the White Sox but struggled with his command in his last start where he walked six while allowing five earned runs in four innings against the Yankees. McKenzie has issued 12 walks on the season and 10 of those have come in his last 9 2/3 innings.
Saturday, April 20, 3:10 p.m. PDT (NBCSCA)
Alex Wood (2023: 4 GS, 16.2 IP, 18.8 K%, 11.8 BB%, 8.10 ERA, 5.59 FIP)
Lefty Alex Wood will make his fifth start of the season in Saturday’s matchup. Wood struggled in his last start allowing seven hits, four walks and four runs in just 4 1/3 innings against the Nationals. He has failed to complete five innings in three of his four starts this season.
Logan Allen (2023: 4 GS, 21.1 IP, 18.9 K%, 6.7 BB%, 5.06 ERA, 4.93 FIP)
Right-hander Logan Allen will get the nod for the Guardians Saturday. He faced Oakland back on March 29 and allowed three runs over five innings to go along with three strikeouts. Over his last two outings, he has allowed nine runs combined in just 9 2/3 innings.
Sunday, April 21, 10:40 a.m. (NBCSCA)
Ross Stripling (2023: 4 GS, 23.2 IP, 17.3 K%, 6.7 BB%, 5.32 ERA, 3.16 FIP)
Ross Stripling will make his fifth start of the season for the A’s in the series finale Sunday. Stripling is carrying a 5.32 ERA but his 3.16 FIP tells a different story. He allowed six hits and three runs over 5 2/3 innings in his last start against the Cardinals. Stripling faced the Guardians back in the opening series and allowed four earned runs and struck out six over five innings.
Tanner Bibee (2023: 4 GS, 18.2 IP, 20.9 K%, 11.6 BB%, 4.82 ERA, 5.13 FIP)
Tanner Bibee will get the call for the Guardians in Sunday’s finale. Bibee faced the A’s back on March 30 where he walked five and allowed three runs in just four innings. Since then, he has alternated good starts with a bad one. He pitched well last time out allowing just one run over five innings against the Red Sox.