A’s vs. Braves game thread

New series on deck in Atlanta

After finishing their 3-game series with the Rays having lost two of three, the A’s make the short trip north up to Georgia to take on the Atlanta Braves for a fresh series.

Taking the ball for Oakland tonight will be reliable lefty JP Sears. The young Sears has continued to show improvement in growth here in Year 2 as he sports a nice 3.88 ERA and is coming off another scoreless outing last time out, his fourth this season. Atlanta has a lot of good hitters up and down the lineup so today will be as good a test for him as any.

Here’s the Oakland lineup that’ll be backing him up:

Tyler Soderstrom is in the lineup but not catching. A curious move considering that Shea Langeliers is getting a full day off. Lefty swinger Kyle McCann is behind the plate today ready to face a right-handed starter.

That right-hander is Reynaldo López. The former reliever turned starter is having a terrific season for the Braves in his first full season as a starting pitcher in years. He’s sporting a nifty 1.75 ERA over his first nine starts. Runs may be at a premium for the Oakland bats today.

The Braves’ lineup:

The lineup lost its best hitter last week when Ronald Acuna Jr. tore his ACL. There are still dangerous bats in that order though. Let’s get back in the win column! Let’s go A’s!