A’S TAKE A DAY OFF IN CHICAGO
A day off in Chicago did wonders for Ferris Bueller. Why not the A’s?
After another unusual scheduling quirk — consecutive nights off in Chicago during a week-long span that began with a rare Friday night off at home — the A’s return to action on the South Side of town with an afternoon game on Friday to open a three-game series against the White Sox.
The A’s are coming off a 10-1 loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Wednesday afternoon, their second loss in three games in the first half of their week-long Chicago visit.
Overall, the A’s have won seven of their past 10. But losing the series in the North Side was not a good start to a pivotal stretch that could go a along way in determining the A’s position in the AL wild-card race heading into the final month of the season.
Oakland (65-50) and Tampa Bay are in a virtual tie for the second AL wild-card spot behind Cleveland. Boston and Texas are another handful of games behind, but hardly out of the race. After the series against the suddenly hot White Sox (5162), the A’s play 14 of their next 18 games against division leaders (the Astros and the Yankees) or the NL wild-card hopeful Giants.
— A’s right-hander Mike Fiers (10-3, 3.46) is scheduled to pitch the series opener, looking to extend his personal unbeaten streak to 17 games. Since throwing a no-hitter against the Reds on May 7 the veteran is 8-0 with a 2.26 ERA in his past 16 outings
One of those starts was last month at home against the White Sox, a game the A’s won 51 as part of a three-game sweep. Fiers shut out Chicago on eight hits over 7 2/3 innings. He has never lost to the White Sox (3-0 with a 1.83 ERA in seven starts) or at Guaranteed Rate Field (1-0 with a 1.45 ERA in three starts).
Right-hander Tanner Roark (1-0, 1.80 ERA) is scheduled to make his second start for the A’s on Saturday and Chris Bassitt (7-5, 3.80 ERA) will start Sunday’s series finale.
— While Thursday’s day off gave the A’s a chance to lick their wounds — they have lost five of their past seven on the road — it was especially timely for outfielder Nick Martini, a native of northern Illinois who got his first hit of the season in Monday’s loss to the Cubs.
Martini has taken the roster spot left vacant when center fielder Ramon Laureano went on the injured list with a stress reaction in his right shin last week. Laureano is expected to miss the entire month of August.