Sunday afternoon baseball and we will see the Baltimore Orioles take on the Oakland A's at the O.co Coliseum in Oakland, California. First pitch is scheduled for a 4:05 PM (Eastern) start time and the game will be televised locally. Current Betting Odds, according to Sportsbook.ag, have Oakland listed as the favorite.
Current Odds
Baltimore +131
Oakland - 142
Over/ Under: 8 -110
Analysis: The Baltimore Orioles haven't swept a four-game series visiting the Oakland Athletics in 26 years. The Orioles (15-9) earned their first set of back-to-back wins at Oakland since 2005 on Thursday and Friday, and a 7-3 victory on Saturday puts them in position for their first four-game sweep at Oakland since May 22-25, 1987. The Orioles have held the A’s to five runs in the first three games of the series and have bashed the ball in most of their turns at the plate. Baltimore pounded out 15 hits in a 10-2 win in the series opener and recorded three home runs among 10 hits in Saturday’s 7-3 triumph. Nick Markakis has a homer and five RBIs in the series to lead the way. Today's scheduled starter is Miguel Gonzalez (2-1, 4.13). Gonzalez has struggled with his command but has limited the damage in most of his starts. The Mexico native has issued 12 walks in 24 innings but has three quality starts and earned a win with six strong innings against Toronto on Tuesday. The right-hander has never faced Oakland but has been at his best on the road this season with a 1-1 mark and a 2.92 ERA.
The Oakland Athletics have dominated fellow members of the American League West but have not been able to do much of anything against the rest of the league. The Athletics will be trying to avoid a four-game sweep when they host the AL East’s Baltimore Orioles in the finale on Sunday. Oakland has gone 11-2 against the West but fell to 2-10 against the rest of the AL with their fourth straight setback on Saturday. Oakland has dropped eight of its last nine overall as its own offense has stumbled. Josh Reddick went 0-for-2 on Saturday to drop his average to .155 and Chris Young is at .162. Third baseman Josh Donaldson has been one of the few bright spots. He's batting .579 (11 for 19) with eight RBIs over the last six games after matching a career high with four hits and driving in two on Saturday. The possible return of Cespedes from a strained left thumb could add some much-needed pop to an A's lineup that hit a major league-best 19 homers during its 9-2 start. He's been rehabbing at Triple-A Sacramento and could be activated on Sunday. Bartolo Colon has the lone victory in the last nine games for the A’s with seven scoreless innings in brutal weather conditions at Boston on Tuesday. The burly right-hander struck out a season-high seven batters in that outing and has issued just one walk in 26 innings. Colon has posted a 12-8 record with a 3.10 ERA in 26 career games against the Orioles and has been tough on Matt Wieters (1-for-10) and J.J. Hardy (2-for-17).
Pick: 25 years since the o's swept a 4 game series here and I don't expect it to happen this time around either. Getting back Cespedes should be key for this team that has had a power outage of late. Coloon has pitched well in the early going and he has been tough on the O's in his career. I look for that continue here as the A's avoid the sweep.
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