First Pitch: 7:10 CDT
TV: FSN
Radio: AM 1500 & TRN
Know Thine Enemy: Athletics Nation
Right. Aren't we supposed to be better that the A's? Because last night they kicked us right back to Bloomington, about 30 years ago. Let's see if we can't right the ship today, and pick up a bit of luck and have the Tigers lose again. Am I asking too much?
Jeff did fine in his first start, limiting the White Sox to a run over five innings. Even against the Blue Jays in his second start he wasn't horrible, but for a guy who was on his first night at the full pitch limit of an everyday starter he was way too liberal with how many pitches he threw. If he wants to get through five innings, even against the A's, he's going to need to pick up on out more often than every eight pitches. In spite of the dozen runs they threw up last night, Oakland's offense isn't the most dangerous right now. If Manship stays aggressive and doesn't leave too many pitches over the plate, that alone could be enough to keep his team in it. A little offensive support wouldn't hurt, either. In his 16.1 innings of a major league debut, it's been his breaking balls that have been his best pitches so far.
Anderson is a 21-year old southpaw rookie who was called up directly from double-A. Over his first couple of months with the A's it was very, very rough going. Balls left the yard like it was going out of style. But at the end of June it's like something clicked, and since June 29 he's tallied a 3.38 ERA over 13 starts. He's allowed only six home runs compared to the 13 he gave up in his first 13 starts. In this period he's also held opponents to a .232/.289/.317 line. He's a strikeout threat, doesn't dish out too many walks, and that slider is absolutely viscious. Watch out for that one. If I'm the Twins, I'm sitting on the fastball.