Oakland @ Los Angeles preview
Angel Stadium
Last Meeting ( Sep 28, 2010 ) Oakland 2, LA Angels 4
Daytime has been the best time for the Oakland Athletics this season, and they can only hope it helps again.
The Athletics are 34-20 during the day, second in the majors to Colorado (34-19), and a paltry 43-60 at night.
Oakland will hope to use that favorable stat in trying to snap a five-game losing streak when it finishes a three-game series Wednesday afternoon against the Los Angeles Angels.
The Athletics will start a pitcher who will be right at home in Bobby Cramer, a native of Anaheim. Cramer (2-1, 3.71 ERA) will face right-hander Joel Pineiro (10-7, 3.96) in the Angels’ home finale.
Los Angeles used a home run by Torii Hunter to earn a 4-2 victory over Oakland on Tuesday night. The victory left both teams at 77-80 as they vie for second place in the American League West.
Hunter has a team-high batting average of .285 and will likely have to average better than three hits per game to finish at least .300. The last time the Angels finished without a starter batting .300 or better was 2001.
Cramer, 30, probably never expected he would get a chance to pitch in his hometown ballpark - or any other major league park.
After being signed as an undrafted free agent by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2003, he was out of baseball completely by 2005. He saw plenty of games as an Angels season-ticket holder. He worked odds jobs, including pipeline maintenance and as a substitute math teacher in Orange County.
In 2007, Cramer signed with Oakland and played for the Athletics’ Single-A and Double-A teams, but was released that season. Back home, he played for the Orange County Flyers of the independent Golden League in 2008.
He was signed again by the A's in 2009, playing at three minor-league levels. From there he played in Mexico earlier this season and was called up to Triple-A Sacramento in August before finally getting his shot with Oakland earlier this month.
Cramer is 2-1 with a 3.71 ERA, allowing seven runs on 17 hits in 17 innings. He has been prone to allowing homers and has given up five in his three starts. He allowed two homers in a 10-3 loss to Texas on Friday.
Pineiro will make his final start of the season and his third since coming off the disabled list with a left oblique strain. Pineiro allowed just one run in eight innings but took a no-decision in the Angels’ 2-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Friday.
Pineiro is 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA in two starts against Oakland this season.
Los Angeles’ Erick Aybar (sports hernia) and Maicer Izturis (inflamed shoulder) got the day off Tuesday but are expected back in the lineup today.