We have a battle of non-contenders as Oakland (56-97) takes on the LA Angels (67-86) from Angel Stadium on Tuesday night at 9:38pmET.
Oakland will send James Kaprielian (4-9, 4.43 ERA) to the bump against lefty Pablo Sandoval (6-9, 3.01 ERA). The Angels have won six of the last eight games in this series.
It may seem like 10 years ago, but Oakland was 86-76 last season. This year has been a disaster as the A's once against became the seller and not the buyer at the trade deadline. The good news is that they have some talent led by outfielder Seth Brown, who has 25 homers (career high) and hit a couple of the weekend against Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer.
Which play this homestand takes the ???@Xfinity | #DrumTogether pic.twitter.com/cqVe9pKmxg
— Oakland A's (@Athletics) September 26, 2022
The A's competed against the Mets, but lost two of three. Surprisingly, they got to deGrom on Saturday in a 10-4 win, but allowed 22 runs in the other two games. The problem has been the pitching, which ranks 25th in ERA (4.62) and 24th in WHIP (1.34). Offensively, they are just dreadful as they average 3.53 runs per game to rank 29th and own the worst batting average in baseball (.217). They also have hit just 131 home runs (26th) and rank 29th in OPS (.631).
James Kaprielian has pitched very well lately, allowing just four runs in the last three starts. In his career against the Angels, he is 3-1 with a 1.93 ERA in five starts.