Pittsburgh @ Oakland preview

Pittsburgh at Oakland

Last Meeting ( Jun 25, 2010 ) Pittsburgh 4, Oakland 14

Dallas Braden got the national attention for pitching a perfect game and Brett Anderson got the big-money contract extension. Neither one of them, however, is having the best season of the trio of promising young Oakland Athletics pitchers.

That distinction belongs to 22-year-old right-hander Trevor Cahill, who has won five consecutive decisions and last suffered a loss on May 16.

Cahill will look to stretch his streak to six on Saturday when he pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the middle contest of a three-game series in Oakland. The Athletics won Friday’s opener, 14-4, to hand the Pirates their 15th consecutive road loss.

Braden threw the famous Mother’s Day perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays on May 9 and hasn’t won since. He’s 0-5 in eight starts since being the talk of the nation.

Anderson got off to a strong start and was given a contract extension that could potentially be worth $31 million over six years if Oakland picks up club options over the final two seasons. Anderson is currently on the disabled list with an injured pitching shoulder.

Cahill started the season on the disabled list with a neck injury and then was clobbered by the Toronto Blue Jays on April 30 in his first major-league start of the season. He allowed eight runs - six earned - in five innings against the Blue Jays.

Since the rough outing, Cahill has allowed two or fewer runs in seven of 10 starts. He has a 2.62 ERA during his winning streak, which spans seven starts.

Overall, Cahill is 6-2 with a 3.21 ERA. He went 10-13 last season as a rookie.

During a recent nine-game road trip in which Oakland went 2-7, Cahill was the starting pitcher in both Athletics’ victories.

Cahill got the win when Oakland beat the Chicago Cubs on June 15 and then got a no-decision in his last start despite pitching solidly during the Athletics’ 3-2 win at the St. Louis Cardinals. Cahill gave up two runs, four hits, no walks and struck out seven in six innings.

Daniel McCutchen will be recalled Saturday to start for the Pirates. McCutchen was 0-2 with a 13.50 ERA in four April appearances, three of them starts. His longest outing was four innings.

Pittsburgh outfielder Lastings Milledge was held out of the lineup Friday one night after getting in a dugout confrontation with bench coach Gary Varsho. Milledge was 10-for-22 (.455) over the previous seven games to raise his average to .274.

Pirates second baseman Neil Walker left Friday's game in the seventh inning after a collision with right fielder Ryan Church while chasing a foul ball. Walker hit his head on Church’s knee and was taken to a local hospital.

Walker was 3-for-4 before exiting to raise his average to .295. Walker has had multiple-hit games four times since June 15.

Oakland’s Conor Jackson didn’t start Friday’s game due to a sore hamstring but did appear as a pinch-hitter.