Oakland @ Miami preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 30, 2011 ) Florida 5, Oakland 4

The Oakland Athletics had the luxury of taking it easy on Thursday while the Miami Marlins exhausted their bullpen en route to losing a 14-inning marathon. The Athletics look to take advantage of the situation and post their seventh win in nine outings on Friday when the teams open a three-game interleague series in South Beach. The Marlins are trending in the opposite direction after suffering their 10th defeat in 15 outings with a 5-3 setback to Philadelphia on Thursday.

Coco Crisp homered among three hits in Wednesday's 8-5 triumph over the New York Mets to continue his torrid stretch at the plate. Crisp has hit safely in 22 of his last 25 contests while Yoenis Cespedes is riding high with 12 RBIs during his 10-game hitting streak. Speaking of strong displays at the plate, Miami's Giancarlo Stanton homered to lead off the fourth inning on Thursday and is 12-for-26 during his seven-game hitting streak.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, CSN California (Oakland), FSN Florida (Miami)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Athletics RH Jesse Chavez (6-4, 2.71 ERA) vs. Marlins RH Anthony DeSclafani (1-2, 7.59)

Chavez deserved a better fate in his last outing on Saturday, settling for a no-decision after scattering three hits over seven scoreless innings against Boston. The 31-year-old didn't fare as well in his last meeting with Miami, allowing six runs in as many innings in 2012 to suffer the loss while a member of the Toronto Blue Jays. Chavez has kept the ball in the park in each of his last three starts and has only yielded nine homers in 93 innings this season.

After winning his major-league debut on May 14, DeSclafani has struggled mightily in his last three starts. The 24-year-old permitted a season-worst seven runs on as many hits in 3 2/3 innings en route to an 11-5 loss to the Mets. DeSclafani has allowed a homer in each of his four starts this season.

WALK-OFFS

1. Miami 3B Casey McGehee has hit safely in eight of his last nine contests.

2. Oakland LHP Sean Doolittle has retired 37 of his last 38 batters and is riding a scoreless streak of 25 1/3 innings.

3. Marlins OF Christian Yelich (strained back) is tentatively scheduled to return for Sunday's series finale.

PREDICTION: Athletics 5, Marlins 1