Time to wrap up this road trip. The A’s have gone 3-2 on their East Coast road trip and will have a chance to win their series and have a winning road trip if they are able to earn the win this morning. Baltimore won’t go quietly though so let’s hope the guys come ready to roll.
We got a first this morning as top prospect Luis Morales will be getting the call for his first career major league start. The right-hander has alreay gotten his feet wet with a relief appearance for the Athletics, going two full innings and allowing a run to get his major league career kicked off. Now he’ll slide into the starting rotation today with a chance to earn a long-term spot among the starting five. And with the state of the starting rotation, getting a high-upside arm like Morales going would be a boon to the staff. We could be seeing the beginnings of a special pitcher this morning against a young O’s team he’ll be seeing plenty of over the coming years. Across Double and Triple-A this year he’s posted a 3.73 ERA over 23 appearances (14 starts), displaying strong strikeout numbers for someone who is still just 22 years old.
Here’s how manager Mark Kotsay handled the starting lineup this morning:
Catcher Shea Langeliers is back in the leadoff spot but he’s getting a half-day off as he’ll be the DH this morning. Predictable after he caught all nine innings of the previous two games. That means two things: one, Brent Rooker needs to dust off his glove and get ready to man the outfield, and two, backup catcher Willie MacIver gets a start behind the plate catching Morales’ first career start. Pretty standard stuff all around.
Elsewhere in the lineup top outfield prospect Colby Thomas will draw the start in center field and bat cleanup, sending the lefty-swinging Lawrence Butler to the bench with a left-hander on the mound for Baltimore. But the lefty-swinging JJ Bleday will get a start against a left-handed pitcher in left field, sending fellow lefty-slugger Tyler Soderstrom to the bench for a much-needed day off. Bleday has been on fire at the plate in recent games and it’s earning him more playing time even against a lefty. He’s gone 11-for-21 over his past six games with a pair of home runs so why not ride the hot bat? Is he working his way back into the Athletics’ future plans? That’s to be determined but this would be where it starts. Starting second baseman Luis Urias will get the morning off, making way for Max Schuemann to handle duties at the keystone. His double-play partner Darell Hernaiz is also rising up the order thanks to his hot bat, hitting in the #5 hole this morning behind Thomas.
That lineup will be going up against O’s left-hander Cade Povich. Considered one of Baltimore’s better pitching prospects, Povich has spent parts of the last two seasons in the big leagues but has yet to find sustained success. He’s going to bring a bloated 5.25 ERA across 13 starts into today’s contest, including allowing four earned runs over 5 2/3 frames last time on the mound. He’s made one career start against the A’s and got demolished for eight runs in just one inning of work last season so the Green & Gold got that going for them against the second-year starter.
Time to wrap things up with a nice bow and secure our 53rd win. I think everyone is ready to head home so let’s make the ride back a happy one with a victory. Let’s go A’s!