Oakland at San Francisco
Friday, May 20th, 10:15 PM
(matchup)
The Oakland A’s will look to rebound from a disappointing two-game sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Twins when they begin Interleague Play against Bay Area rival San Francisco. The 2011 World Series Champion Giants have done very well when hosting the Athletics, going a perfect 6-0 the previous two seasons. Tonight, the two teams find themselves just about even on the money line. The public has come in early on the visitors however, taking the A’s up to -115 at most online sportsbooks.
The pitching matchup in Friday’s series opener should be a good one. Trevor Cahill will go for Oakland as he’s looking to bounce back from his first loss of the season. Cahill had previously won five straight decisions, allowing one earned run or less in all of them, before surrendering a season-high 10 hits in a 4-3 loss to the White Sox on Sunday.
Oakland has won 27 of Cahill’s last 39 starts overall and that includes a 20-8 mark when he’s favored on the
sports betting line. Cahill also has a 6-2 team start record in Interleague Play, including 2 for 2 vs. the Giants with a 1.39 ERA.
Cahill will be opposed by San Francisco’s Ryan Vogelsong, who comes in with a 3-0 record and 2.86 ERA. Vogelsong is coming off back to back shutout wins over the Rockies and Cubs, allowing only eight hits in 12.3 innings pitched. He did not fare well in his only career start vs. Oakland, allowing six earned runs in just four innings, but that was all the way back in 2004.
Vogelsong’s story is pretty incredible as Tommy John surgery took him out of baseball in 2006.
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The A’s were 14-0 winners over the Angels on Tuesday, but after that dropped back to back games to a struggling Twins team, including a brutal 11-1 loss at home Thursday night. Starter Tyson Ross lasted only seven pitches due to a strained left oblique. That loss does not bode well for Oakland bettors tonight as the team is 4-18 when playing on the road and off a loss by 10 runs or more.
The Giants were far more successful in their most recent series, taking two games from the rival Dodgers to climb back into first place in the National League West division.
From 2006-08, Oakland was 7-0 here in San Francisco. However, since that time, their starters have posted a 6.21 ERA in six straight losses. The bullpen has been a lone bright spot during the losing skid to the Giants with a 3.68. However, A’s manager Bob Geren will likely not want to use the pen too much tonight after they were needed for all 27 outs on Thursday.
