Series Preview: A’s @ Angels (The End)

Angels 78-81
Athletics 96-63

The A’s may have almost 20 more wins than the Angels, but these two teams are tied at 8 wins apiece on the season series. However, over their last 8 meetings, the Angels have only managed 2 wins.

This Oakland team has clinched a post season appearance for the first time since 2014, but they still have something to fight for as the are 2 games behind the Yankees for home field advantage in the wild card game.

Note: As of Friday morning, starters for games 2 and 3 have not been announced for EITHER team. I’ll update this as we know more.

Know your foe:

A’s - who’s hot (last 7 days):

Nick Martini .389 AVG, 3 walks, 1 double, 1 triple
Jonathan Lucroy .389 OBP, 1 home run
Matt Olson .370 OBP, 2 home runs, 7 RBIs

Weather Forecast

GAME 1

Jaime Barria(R) (3.31 ERA) v. Mike Fiers(R) (3.54 ERA)
Friday, September 28th @ 7:07PM

Pitcher vs. Batters

Notable Stats

Summary:

In 25 starts this season, somehow Barria has missed facing the A’s entirely, so he will be making his first career start against Oakland. Last time out, Barria held the Astros to jut 1 runs over 5 innings. Barria has rarely gone past 5 innings and has thrown 90 or more pitches only 5 times this year.

Pitch Arsenal:

Since Jun 27th, Fiers has allowed more than 3 runs just one time. He faced the Angels as a member of the Tigers back on May 30th and held them to 1 run on 7 hits over 5.2 innings. Fiers has a 2.86 ERA in 4 September starts.

Pitch Arsenal:

Verdict: This could be a bit of a pitching duel for at least 5 or 6 innings before the bullpens take over - and Oakland has a killer pen. The Angels will need to get to Fiers for something before that happens.

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GAME 2

TBD v. TBD
Saturday, September 29th @ 6:07PM

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GAME 3

TBD v. TBD
Sunday, September 30th @ 12:07PM

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Overall Verdict: I don’t see either team sweeping, but enjoy the ride because we don’t get to see the Angels play meaningful games for 6 more months.

Current Standings