Game: Oakland Athletics @ Pittsburgh Pirates
Time: 7:05 p.m.
Odds: Athletics +170, Pirates -185
Total: 8.5
When the suddenly hot Pittsburgh Pirates host the Oakland Athletics on Monday for the start of a series, it almost seems as though the baseball gods are setting things up for the Bucs. After a largely disappointing May, Pittsburgh has won five straight games after sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals over the weekend. The Pirates’ fourth series victory was their first since a strong April, though.
Closer David Bednar pitched the ninth inning in each of the three games against St. Louis and earned a save in each.
The A’s, the worst team in baseball, just lost a series to Miami in which they lost the first two games by a combined score of 16-1 before blowing a four-run lead on Sunday to lose all three games and complete the sweep. The A’s have a large pool of young, inexperienced talent, and the learning curve has been steep.
Oakland has won only two of its 17 series this season. One of those came last week against Atlanta, which leads the NL East. Against the Braves, the A’s won back-to-back games for the first time of the season. The first win over Atlanta broke an 11-game losing streak. So far this season, Oakland has been swept nine times.
JP Sears (0-3, 4.37 ERA) of Oakland and Johan Oviedo (3-4, 4.50 ERA) of Pittsburgh are scheduled to start the first game of the series. Sears, who joined the A’s last year during his rookie season from the New York Yankees. He has never faced the Pirates. In each of his last four starts, he has allowed two runs or fewer, but he has not been given a decision. He has eight total no-decisions, which is among the highest totals in the major leagues.
In his previous game against Atlanta on Tuesday, Sears allowed one run and four hits over six innings. The A’s won the game in walk-off fashion, which left Sears with yet another no-decision. Despite his record, Sears has been pitching with confidence. Unfortunately, his offense won’t be able to help him much. The A’s rank dead last in scoring (3.38 runs per game) and are in the bottom-5 in most other offensive categories.
Oviedo has never faced the A’s, but in three of his last four starts, he has allowed just one run. He pitched at San Francisco last Tuesday but was not involved in the decision after allowing one run over 4.1 innings. The Pirates have won two of Oviedo’s last three starts.
Pittsburgh has not done well when hosting Oakland. The Pirates are just 3-6 SU the last nine times the A’s have visited PNC Park. Oakland is just 2-15 SU in its last 17 games and has lost ten straight on the road. The A’s are 1-6 SU in their last seven games against Pittsburgh. Oakland has lost four straight coming into tonight. The A’s managed just eight runs in those four games.
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