Tampa Bay @ Oakland preview
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
Last Meeting ( May 8, 2010 ) Tampa Bay 2, Oakland 4
Andrew Bailey was a relative unknown when he burst onto the scene last season with the Oakland Athletics
With no clear-cut closer in the mix, Bailey grabbed the reigns of the ninth-inning duties in May and did not disappoint. He went on to save 26 games in being named American League Rookie of the Year.
Forget about a sophomore slump, Bailey has picked up right where he left off and is even more unhittable in the early portion of 2010.
Bailey recorded his sixth save of the season - and 27th in a row dating to last year - by working a perfect ninth inning in Saturday’s 4-2 win against the Tampa Bay Rays.
More impressively, the 25-year-old has yet to be scored upon in 12 appearances to date. He also has saved each of the club’s past four victories.
When Bailey closed the door on the Rays Saturday, it sent Tampa Bay to only its second road loss in 15 games and snapped their overall five-game win streak.
The Rays' road start was the best in baseball since the Detroit Tigers won their first 17 road games of the 1984 season.
The three-game series is up for grabs as the A’s and Rays take the field in Sunday afternoon’s rubber match. Oakland has been tough to beat in day games, with a majors-best mark of 9-3 in those contests.
After a 23-inning scoreless streak by Tampa Bay pitchers was snapped in the first inning Saturday, James Shields heads to the mound in an attempt to get another streak going.
Shields has been sharp through six starts, going a perfect 4-0 with a 3.15 ERA and team-leading 43 strikeouts.
The right-hander has rattled off all his victories after taking a pair of no-decisions to open the year. His last outing was his best as he struck out 10 batters and allowed two runs on eight hits over eight innings of a 5-2 win over Seattle.
He has already faced Oakland this season, going seven innings in a win on April 28.
A’s starter Dallas Braden, whose name has been in the news because of an on-going squabble with New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez, will try to let his pitching do the talking.
Braden opened the campaign with a no-decision, followed by three consecutive wins before taking a slight step back. The left-hander has dropped the last two starts, including a loss at the hands of Tampa Bay in which he gave up six runs on eight hits in only four innings.
He is 3-2 with a 4.14 ERA on the season.