A’s Go For 6th Series Sweep Of 2013 Against White Sox: Game Preview
Jun 1, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics outfielder Yoenis Cespedes (52) smiles at Chicago White Sox catcher Hector Gimenez (38) while entering the batter
The Oakland Athletics have won 13 of their past 15 games, and they have the opportunity to earn their seventh sweep of the season Sunday afternoon after besting the Chicago White Sox in the first two games of the series.
It’s been a up-and-down season for the A’s, and they’ve been on both ends of the competitive spectrum. Oakland went through a 2-8 rough patch in April, which was compounded by a 10-game east coast trip where they went 3-7. After their most recent hot streak, the A’s sport a 33-24 record and are two games behind the Texas Rangers in the AL West standings.
Jarrod Parker will take the hill today for Oakland. After enduring some rough outings early on in the year, the right-hander has since worked his ERA down to 5.24, and in his most recent outing he went seven strong innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits with four strikeouts against the San Francisco Giants.
Left-hander Chris Sale gets the call for the White Sox. Sale is 5-2 on the year with a 2.53 ERA. He’s technically still in the midst of a 16.2 inning scoreless streak since a two-run homer given up against the Cubs was nullified from the stat sheet when the game was called after three innings because of rain. He was scratched from the previous start because of some mild shoulder tendinitis in his throwing arm, so he’ll be plenty rested atop the mound at the Coliseum this afternoon.
One of the biggest harbingers of Oakland’s success has been their offensive output, and that’s been strengthened by a healthy roster. Josh Reddick is 3-for-8 since returning from the DL Friday night, and he drew a game-winning walk yesterday with the bases loaded in the 10th inning.
Jed Lowrie matched his career-high with four hits Saturday, and he’s now batting .400 in his past nine games. He’ll play second base today with Adam Rosales in the lineup at shortstop.
Rookie Nate Freiman has earned regular playing time, and he’s hitting .269 with 15 RBI’s. Freiman had a triple Saturday in the fifth inning to score Josh Donaldson for the third run of the game for Oakland.
Coco Crisp has an impressive .865 OPS and leads the team with 27 walks, and the A’s are now 26-13 with him in the lineup and 7-11 without him.
Game time is at 1:05 PST.
LINEUPS
Oakland Athletics
1. C. Crisp CF
2. J. Lowrie 2B
3. Y. Cespedes LF
4. J. Donaldson 3B
5. N. Freiman 1B
6. C. Young DH
7. J. Reddick LF
8. D. Norris C
9. A. Rosales SS
Chicago White Sox
1. A. De Aza LF
2. A. Ramirez SS
3. C. Gillaspie 3B
4. D. Viciedo DH
5. A. Dunn 1B
6. C. Wells RF
7. J. Danks CF
8. T. Flowers C
9. T. Greene 2B