Thursday 5/25 - Sunday 5/28 A's @ Rangers

[Providence A's]

@

Thursday 5/25 5:05 PM PT Brad Halsey vs. Kevin Millwood
Friday 5/26 5:05 PM PT Joe Blanton vs. John Koronka
Saturday 5/27 5:05 PM PT Barry Zito vs. Kameron Loe
Sunday 5/28 5:05 PM PT Kirk Saarloos vs. Vicente Padilla

Series Notes
-Zito has an ERA of 0.80 for the Month of May, but is only 2 - 1 due to poor run support and the bullpen not doing its job
-Witasick, Loaiza, Duke, Harden, Kennedy, and Bradley are all still on the DL
-Witasick should be coming back before the others
-Harden most likely will be back before Loaiza
-A's are 1 game behind Texas for 1st place

[Roy31]

Watch Halsey & Blanton get rocked . This is a pretty big series.

[Providence A's]

watch your pitching staff get BBQ'd after the ASG like every year

[Bear]

Well it is time for concern! The A's need to get their act together and start playing they way we all know they can!!!!

GO A's!!

[Providence A's]

no it's not...all they need to do is stay afloat until players start coming off the DL. 6 major players on the DL and we're only 1 game back of 1st.

Harden = arguably our best SP
Loaiza = not a big loss because he wasn't pitching well, but he was supposed to help save the bullpen innings, which has been an issue
Duke = our best setup man
Kennedy = our lefty setup (LOOGY) and better than Flores, Keisler
Witasick = better than Casilla, Roney, Karsay specials
Bradley = our starting RF

the 2 SPs being out pushed our 2 long relievers into the rotation, which has also hurt the pen as the long man now is Chad Gaudin and no one.

I would only panic at this stage if we were 10 games out or something. We are still in better shape than last year when we were 15 games below .500 around this time.

[Providence A's]

no score after 1. Halsey played w/ fire by walking the bases loaded with 1 out and getting out of it with no runs...hopefully, he rebounds from that. 35 pitches in that inning...we'll be lucky if he goes 5.

[Providence A's]

1 - 0 A's. Chavez doubled and Thomas singled him in to get over the Mendoza line.

[Providence A's]

Swisher doubled. A's have 2nd and 3rd with no outs.

[Providence A's]

Kielty doubles in 2 runs to make it 3 - 0 A's. 2nd base with 1 out.

[Providence A's]

3 - 0 A's after 3. Halsey has 65 pitches now...looks like he should make 5 innings, but maybe with a quick inning or two he can go 6.

[Providence A's]

4 - 0 A's now on a Dan Johnson single.

[Providence A's]

7 - 0 A's in the 5th. Kotsay hit a solo homer and Swisher hit a 2 run jimmy jack.

[Providence A's]

well, Macha leaves Halsey in there too long (over 100 pitches) and he gets in trouble in the 6th. With 2 outs he gave up a single, walk, and then a grand slam to make it 7 - 4. Karsay is in. And he gives up a solo homer to make it 7 - 5...

[Providence A's]

he strikes out Young to end the 6th. 7 - 5 A's going into the 7th.

[Providence A's]

Teixeira just homered off Karsay to make it 7 - 6...line drive barely over the wall...get Karsay out of there! this bullpen is ****ed...