While Oakland is 11-14 on the season, which isn’t too bad, its offense has been among the worst in baseball early on and it needs to break out if the underdog A’s have any chance of sticking around in the playoff hunt this year.
Neither of these teams are expected to be very good this year, but both have been serviceable through the first month of the season and want to keep it rolling in a series that could go either way. The Twins haven’t played well at home this year and want to turn that around against Oakland.
This series will be contested from Tuesday, May 2 through Thursday, May 4, 2017 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
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Pitching Matchups
The Athletics will welcome back Sonny Gray on Tuesday as he makes his season-debut after beginning the season on the disabled list with a lat strain. He had a down season in 2016 but has a career ERA of 3.42 and hopes to start his season on a high note. The Twins will send veteran Ervin Santana to the mound. He has been fantastic this season, starting 4-0 with a 0.77 ERA and a 0.66 WHIP. Santana has not given up more than one earned run in any start this season, although he hasn’t traditionally been dominant in his career and could be due to regress.
In the second game of the series, a pair of similar pitchers will take the hill. Oakland’s Kendall Graveman has started the year 2-1 with a 2.25 ERA, striking out 16 batters and walking five in 24 innings of work. Minnesota will start Hector Santiago, who is 2-1 with a 2.43 ERA, striking out 23 batters and walking eight in 29 innings.
The series will wrap up in Thursday, where the A’s are scheduled to send Jharel Cotton to the mound against the Twins’ Kyle Gibson. Cotton is the more talented pitcher although he is just 2-3 with a 5.00 ERA on the year. Cotton has the talent to turn it around, and hopes to do so against a Twins offense that can struggle. Minnesota will aim to get something out of Kyle Gibson, although he is a scary 0-3 with a 8.03 ERA in 22.1 innings of work. Oakland could be favored in this one because of the lopsided pitching matchup.
Closing Out A Road Trip
The Athletics haven’t been home for a while, as these three games will wrap up a three-city, nine-game trek. Oakland has struggled thus far, losing five of the first six games.
The Athletics were swept by the Angels before dropping two of three to the Houston Astros, and both of those hurt since each are in their division. Oakland is now XX-XX on the road and is looking to finish on a high note before heading home for a six-game homestand.
The Athletics last won two straight road games back in mid-April when they knocked off the Kansas City Royals in consecutive contests.
Power Meets Power
Each team has a big-time slugger anchoring the middle of their lineup. Oakland’s is Khris Davis. He is batting .268 on the season with 10 homers and 17 RBIs. Davis has an on-base percentage of .374 and a sparkling OPS of 1.032. The Twins’ pitching staff must be wary of him, as Davis has transformed himself into one of the better power hitters in the majors.
The Twins counter with hulking slugger Miguel Sano. He has been a top prospect for a long time and is now putting it all together. Sano is batting .316 on the season with seven home runs and 25 RBIs. He has a fantastic on-base percentage of .443 and an OPS of 1.127.
While Sano isn’t likely to hit for such a high batting average the rest of the way, the power is legitimate and he should be the team’s main home run threat this season. Neither team has a very explosive offense, so one or two blasts in a game could turn the outcome. Keep an eye on Davis and Sano as they are key parts of the lineups for each side.
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