Oakland @ Cleveland preview
Progressive Field
Last Meeting ( Jul 4, 2010 ) Oakland 3, Cleveland 1
The Oakland Athletics are still hanging on in the AL West. The next 10 days may decide for how much longer.
The Athletics embark on their longest remaining road trip of the season, which begins on Tuesday. They open a three-game series against the Cleveland Indians before heading to Texas for a crucial three-game weekend series against the division-leading Rangers.
With 10 games in as many days, the road trip concludes in New York with four games against the Yankees, who are tied with the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the AL East.
It’s a lot of mileage and a lot of pressure. The final two legs make it imperative this trip starts well for the Athletics, who are 8.5 games behind the Rangers and only a half-game up on the Los Angeles Angels.
Oakland has struggled away from the Coliseum this month, scoring 12 total runs in dropping six of seven. The Athletics have hit .203 during that span and haven’t homered in a road game this month.
But they have received stellar starting pitching throughout the season and should expect another good start out of Gio Gonzalez on Tuesday.
Gonzalez has a 2.12 ERA in his last five starts and hasn’t allowed a homer since July 21 against the Boston Red Sox. He is 3-0 lifetime in four starts against the Indians with a 1.16 ERA.
The Indians are coming off a three-game sweep at the Detroit Tigers and have dropped five of their last six. They are just 7-13 this month, struggling to both pitch and hit.
The offense managed just three total runs against the Tigers, while the starters have combined to go 1-12 over the last 16 games with a 5.82 ERA. Ace Fausto Carmona will try to stop that Tuesday night, but he has been battling many of his own problems lately.
Carmona leads the team in wins and innings, but has dropped three straight starts and has a 7.07 ERA in his last five outings. He was hammered in his last start, at Kansas City, when he tied a season high by allowing seven runs in five innings.
It was the second time in a span of five starts that Carmona has allowed seven runs. Over the last month since beating Tampa Bay on July 23, his ERA has soared from 3.51 to 4.14.
The Athletics have won four of six against the Indians this season. This is their second trip to Progressive Field after taking two of three in Cleveland last month.