Oakland @ Baltimore preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 12, 2018 ) Oakland 10, Baltimore 0

The red-hot Oakland Athletics only needed to score in one inning en route to a sixth straight victory and now can complete a three-game sweep when they visit the major league-worst Baltimore Orioles in Baltimore on Thursday. The Athletics sent 15 batters to the plate while scoring 10 times in the third inning of Wednesday's 10-0 victory, remaining three games behind first-place Houston in the American League West and climbing within one of the New York Yankees for the first wild-card spot.

Matt Olson belted Oakland’s 200th homer of the season - the sixth time in team history that plateau has been reached - on Wednesday and Stephen Piscotty extended his hitting streak to a career-best 13 contests as the club moved 32 games over .500 for the first time since 2003. Brett Anderson is in line to come off the disabled list and start the series finale for the Athletics, who own an 8 1/2-game lead over Tampa Bay for the AL’s second wild card, while Baltimore sends Dylan Bundy to the mound. The Orioles, who are 0-5 in the season series, have dropped six straight contests overall and are three losses away from tying the club record of 107 set in 1988. Trey Mancini's single was the only hit recorded on Wednesday by Baltimore, which has scored just 14 runs during its losing streak.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, MLB Network, NBCS California (Oakland), MASN (Baltimore)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Athletics LH Brett Anderson (3-4, 4.02 ERA) vs. Orioles RH Dylan Bundy (7-14, 5.58)

Anderson is expected to make his 14th start of the season after spending a little over two weeks on the DL with nerve irritation in his left arm. The 30-year-old Texan produced three scoreless efforts of at least seven innings over a stretch of four starts before allowing five runs over 2 2/3 frames in his last turn on Aug. 27 at Houston. Adam Jones is 2-for-6 with a double versus Anderson, who is 0-1 with a 6.55 ERA in two career starts against the Orioles.

Bundy has gone 0-5 with a 9.09 ERA in seven starts since the beginning of August after giving up six runs over four innings in a loss at Tampa Bay on Friday. The 25-year-old fourth overall pick in 2011 has not recorded a win since July 29 and has served up a major league-high 37 homers in 27 starts this year. Khris Davis is 3-for-7 with a homer and a double against Bundy, who is 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA in three career appearances (two starts) versus the Athletics.

WALK-OFFS

1. The Athletics are 20-8 against AL East opponents and meet another over the weekend in red-hot Tampa Bay.

2. Baltimore OF D.J. Stewart became the 55th player used by the team this year, eclipsing the club record set in 1955.

3. Oakland 3B Matt Chapman is 3-for-8 with a pair of doubles, two runs scored and four RBIs in the series.

PREDICTION: Athletics 5, Orioles 4