The Oakland A's face the Cleveland Guardians with both teams looking to improve on difficult seasons. The A's have a 19-56 record and with six losses in a row, they are in last place in the American League West Division. The Guardians have a 34-38 record and are in the middle of the American League Central Division. For the upcoming game, the A's will turn to Paul Blackburn as their starting pitcher, who has only allowed two runs in his last two starts, while the Guardians will turn to Gavin Williams, who is one of their best pitching prospects, to start the game.
The A's are having a season to forget and hope to turn things around to avoid finishing the year with one of the worst records in baseball history. Paul Blackburn has only pitched in four games this season but has stepped up on the mound, allowing only nine runs in 20.2 innings pitched while tossing 23 strikeouts. In addition, with a .220 expected opponent Batting Average, a .360 expected opponent Slugging Percentage, and a 3.16 expected ERA, opponents are making minimal contact and struggling to drive in runs against Blackburn.
While Blackburn has stepped up, the lineup has let the A's down this year, scoring only 3.54 runs per game including only 13 runs in the last six games. Brent Rooker is slashing .255/.356/.491 with 13 home runs and 106 total bases while Shea Langeliers and Ryan Noda have added 15 home runs and 165 total bases but the rest of the lineup has struggled. Only two batters have an OPS+ over 100 and opposing pitchers can eliminate the hapless lineup with ease.