Game Thread #50: Athletics at Cleveland
Chris Bassitt is locked in. Though the 5 starts he has had with Oakland this season since returning from the injury, Bassitt has already matched his career high bWAR for the season at 1.1. The previous high was based off of 13 starts in 18 appearances in 2015, but what Chris has managed to do in the 32.2 innings pitched in 2019 has been enough to lock him into a spot in the rotation.
In a season where the Athletics bullpen is also hit or miss, especially in road games, Bassitt’s appearances have been lengthy enough to matter. The 2 starts where The Hound was taken out after 5 innings were due to pitch count, more than performance. The other 3, Bassitt has delivered extra quality starts, lasting 7+ innings and never allowing more than 3 earned runs. In a year where the Oakland rotation was shaky at best, Bassitt, along with Frankie Montas, has cemented himself into a formidable mid-rotation arm. Dependable, and able to work through innings with his little trouble, pounding the zone with his 94mph fastballs, and using his dropping curve to throw off hitters.
The Athletics have largely been able to back up Bassitt with run support with only one scoreless game. Last time Bassitt was on the mound, the A’s exploded to beat the Tigers 17-3. That road win started the Athletics’ current win streak, and started righting the ship on what had been a very poor road record for the Oakland squad.
Lineups:
Lineups: #Athletics at #Indians - May 21 at Progressive Field: pic.twitter.com/AZDOBCgbBY
— AthleticsPR (@AthleticsPR) May 21, 2019
Lineup Notes:
- Khris Davis is back, after a rest day yesterday to tend to the hip thats been bugging him since the beginning of the month. He hits well against Trevor Bauer, with a .417 average over 12 AB.
- Cleveland will be batting lefty for 7/9 batters, at least for the first few trips through the lineup. As a team Cleveland is batting .237/.319/.378 when putting lefties against righties.
- Stephen Piscotty is batting 5th, and today it was announced that he has won the Hutch Award for the second year in a row!
- Trevor Bauer takes the mound against the A’s. He’s managed 1 win in 7 starts against the A’s in his history.
The A’s 4ish game road win streak leads into this afternoon ball game in Cleveland, the second in the 3 game series. The Athletics went yard 3 times yesterday, and we can look to the Matts, and Khris Davis to continue to hit the ball out of Progressive Field again today.
How about a little extra fun today? Here are some predictions for today’s game.
- The A’s will hit at least 3 home runs, with one from Khris Davis
- Trevor Bauer will not pitch past the 5th inning.
- Blake Treinen will not be used in this game.
- Chris Bassitt will throw 2 curveballs below 70mph
- Francisco Lindor will be shown smiling on camera at least 4 times.
Let’s see if any of these come true! We’ll see in the game recap!
Lets go A’s!