A’s vs. Angels game thread

On the road again against a familiar friend

While yesterdays series finale against the Houston Astros ended in a tough 8-1 loss, the A’s are still riding high after the All-Star Game break with back-to-back series victories and a 4-2 record. Today, they’ll hit the road for the first time in the second half as they take on the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim for a four-game set.

Both squads played each other this past weekend resulting in the A’s taking ²⁄₃ and scoring 26 runs at home. After the series loss, the Angels flew north to Washington where they swept the Seattle Mariners allowing just three runs in three games. The Halos are now 7-3 in their last ten and magically just eight games back of the American League West lead.

Getting the starting nod for the A’s will be Ross Stripling who’s making his first appearance since May 24 when he was placed on the Injured List with an elbow strain. His 11 starts as an Athletic before that weren’t particularly great; he’s 1-9 on the season with a 5.82 ERA surrendering more hits than innings pitched.

Perhaps a second-half resurgence is on the way for the veteran righty? One can only hope so. Below is the lineup behind Stripling that will take the field tonight. The A’s offense has been scorching since the All-Star Game break averaging 6.5 runs per contest.

Facing the A’s lineup is southpaw Kenny Rosenberg. This will mark Rosenberg’s third appearance of the season and first start. One of those two appearances came on Saturday in Oakland where he ate up four solid innings in relief after the A’s chased Jack Kochanowicz out of the game rather quickly.

Here’s the lineup behind Rosenberg tonight:

The A’s have taken five of their last six over the Angels, but their previous trip to Anaheim in June saw the green and gold get swept. Let’s hope for some better luck tonight as the A’s look to keep this entertaining second-half going!