First Pitch: 2:35pm CDT
TV: MLB.tv
Radio: Twins Radio Network
Know Thine Enemy: Athletics Nation
Starting Pitchers
Cahill's been pounded lately, which means one of two things: either the Twins will continue to pound him (preferable) or he'll rebound and shut the Twins down (not so preferable). Minnesota faced him on June 11, the infamous "start Michael Cuddyer in center field and see what happens" day. Of course nothing bad happened while Cuddles was in center, it was the muffed play once he shifted back to right that was costly. Cahill was bailed out by Minnesota's defense, with a dash of Sean Henn and Matt Guerrier. Hopefully today will be different, because it sure would be nice to escape the Coliseum being able to say we finished with a win. For a guy whose curveball was supposed to be the best in the organization, according to Baseball America anyway, the only pitch that's been a "plus" so far this season has been his off-speed pitch. Almost three of every four deliveries has been the fastball, so if I'm the Twins, I'm just waiting on fastballs. Also, the Twins better stack the lineup with left-handed batters, who have put up a .997 OPS against Cahill this year (versus .672 for right-handers).
Perk is due for a good start, although with a sometimes hack-tastic Oakland offense it's too bad he doesn't have better stuff. If he's not afraid to go inside and can keep the ball in the park, he should be fine. He doesn't really walk or strike anyone out, but here's something strange: Perk has been a ground ball pitcher this season overall. That's a radical shift. The flies have been steadily decreasing each year with the Twins, with this season (38.5%) coming in just a shade under last year's rate (39.7%). It's the dramatic drop in line drive rates that's shocking this year, with opponents hitting just 13.7% of their balls-in-play off Perk for line drives. Grounders make up nearly 50% of Perkins' game. If he can keep that up, a relatively slow A's lineup could be held in check.