Series Preview: Sox @ Oakland

Oakland A's (28-27)
AL WEST: 6.5 GB
STRK: W-2 LST 10: 6-4
AVG: .252 (11th)ERA: 3.34 (1)
HRs: 52 (9th)

Probable Pitching Matchups:
GM1 MON 10P: Tavarez (3-4, 5.40) vs. Haren (6-2, 1.64)
The A's ace will square off against the Sox fifth starter. Although Julie has pitched well in spots, Haren & the A's will have the decided advantage on the mound in this one, and the Sox' late arrival on the West Coast also plays into Oakland's favor.
MY PICK: A's

GM2 Tue 10P: Matsuzaka (7-3, 4.83) vs. DiNardo (1-2, 1.80)
Will the real Dice-K please stand up? Will we see the man who lit the league on fire with 24 strikeouts in his first 3 starts and ripped off a 6-game win streak, or will we see the Diceman who sometimes pukes before games, and then makes RSN puke after them? Ex-Sox DiNardo makes his 9th career start.
MY PICK: Sox

GM3 Wed 10P: Wakefield (5-6, 4.24) vs. Kennedy (1-4, 3.30)
At least it's not the Stankees, so maybe Wakefield stands a chance to win. I'm not sure if facing someone not wearing pinstripes will have an effect on Wake, but for his sake he'd better put on a good performance in this one.
MY PICK: Sox (?)

GM4 THU 3:30P: Schilling (5-2, 3.91) vs. Blanton (5-3, 3.81)
To say Schill has been shaky is putting it mildly, so a big time outing in the final game of this long series is a must for him as well as the team. Blanton's a good young pitcher, but he freaks when playing a quality opponent (1-6 vs. ANA, 0-2 vs. NYY), although he does own a 2-0 mark in 3 career starts against the Sox. No matter.
MY PICK: Sox

Season Series: Tied 1-1

KEY PLAYERS:

• Nick Swisher (.302/9.33)--the slugging first baseman leads the A's in average, homers, RBIs, OBP, SLG%, walks and total bases; other than that he's done nothing
• Eric Chavez (.233/7/26)--the Gold Glove third baseman has fallen off the peak of his game in recent years, but he can still hurt you with the bat and KILL you with the glove
• Jack Cust (.221/8/21)--after being acquired from the Padres on may 3rd, Cust turned into a folk hero in the Bay area. He smacked all 8 of his homers in his first 13 games with the A's, but his recent slump (3-30 in last 10 gms) combined with the return of Mark Kotsay could put Cust on the bench
• Dan Johnson (.295/5/22)--the burly DH got hot the last time he played the Sox, going 4-9 with 2 doubles, a homer and 3 ribbies in the two games at Fenway in early May. The homer came off Papelbon to tie the game in the 9th; needless to say, his confidence has been growing since

OLD SOX:

• Lenny DiNardo (1-2, 1.80)--the 3rd-year reliever was a rookie on the championship team, pitching in 22 games in middle relief; departed as a free agent after an injury-shortened 2006 season
• Alan Embree (4 svs, 3.00)-- a stalwart in the pen on the championship squad, the 13-year vet appeared in 71 games that year and amazingly his left arm is still intact

PREVIEW:
Two of the best pitching staffs and two of the most patient lineups in the American League will face each other when the Sox start a 4-game series in Oakland tonight.

The A's are ranked #1 in the AL in ERA and the Sox are a close 3rd (3.89), but Boston ranks 1st in the league in walks (236) with Oakland 10 behind them in second place, tied with Cleveland.

What that says is that both teams are disciplined at the plate ands solid on the mound, and is usually the case when these teams hook up, the games should be exciting and well-played.

The Sox could be suffering from jet-lag in Game 1 as they had to fly out to the Bay Area after last night's ESPN Sunday Night game against the Stanks; bad enough the game ended after midnight Eastern time, but the nature of the loss (9th inning homer by A-Rod off Papelbon) had to make that red-eye charter flight all the more uncomfortable.

The last time these two teams met Oakland took the first game of a brief 2-game set in Boston when, ironically, Papelbon allowed a 2-run homer to Travis Buck to tie the game in the 9th, and the A's won it in the 10th on when Dan Johnson doubled off Brendan Donnelly to score Mike Piazza. Huston Street then shut down the Sox in the 10 for the save.

A lot has changed since then, for both teams; the Sox have shot to the best record in the majors, possessors of a potent offense and a deep staff, while the A's have been afflicted with devastating injuries (Street & Piazza are both on the DL now) and ineffective play from guys like Chavez and shortstop Bobby Crosby (.242, 5 homers).

Thus the A's languish around .500 while the red-hot Angels are threatening to run away with the division.

But we all know that Oakland doesn't start to heat up until the second half of the season.

Hopefully they don't pick this series to start their annual summer streak to the playoffs.

Go Sox!