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8/14 Gamethread: Athletics at Giants

Jesus Luzardo vs. Johnny Cueto.

By Bill Hanstock

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Dubon makes contact with a baseball! Photo by Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Hello there, McCoven. Some of you may be familiar with me and some of you may not. I’ll be putting up Gamethreads and some other things while Brady is out for personal matters. We may not be able to get to everything we normally do, but rest assured that you’ll have a place to scream into the void while the bullpen coughs up a late lead. Not that ... you know ... that would happen. In every game of the series.

I’m Bill Hanstock, and I haven’t been writing much since returning to the beautiful confines here at SB Nation, as I’ve been pulling levels and twirling dials behind the scenes as the Community Manager for the California sites. You’d be amazed how many dials there are! This one goes to eleven!

Anyway, I’ve been a writer and editor and digital media whoozawhatsis since 2011 here at SB Nation, including Dot Com, Cageside Seats, and yes, McCovey Chronicles. I also did a stint at FOX Sports and some other places, and despite the circumstances, it’s great to be back saying hello to all of you once again at hands down my favorite site on the internet.

(I’m personal friends IRL with Grant and Bryan if I need further bona fides, and don’t pay attention when they pretend not to know me and end the call. They’re just goofin’.)

Anyway, the A’s are coming to town tonight, and they’ll be without Ramon Laureano for the duration of the series, as he will begin serving a four-game suspension starting on Friday for being goaded into a fight by a coterie of dastardly Astros. Dastros.

Johnny Cueto will be getting the ball tonight for the Giants. Let’s hope all the fielders behind him can keep track of it!

Game #21

Who: Oakland Athletics (13-6) vs. San Francisco Giants (8-12)
Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California
When: 6:45 p.m. PT
Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area (available through fuboTV)
National broadcast: None
Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM

Lineups

Austin Slater takes a seat tonight and everyone’s favorite heartthrob, Donovan Solano, will be back in the San Francisco groove.

  1. CF — Mike Yastrzemski (L) — .314/.448/.629 — 197 OPS+
  2. 2B — Donovan Solano (R) — .458/.476/.661 — 214 OPS+
  3. 3B — Evan Longoria (R) — .213/.250/.319 — 58 OPS+
  4. 1B — Wilmer Flores (R) — .254/.282/.463 — 103 OPS+
  5. RF — Hunter Pence (R) — .105/.150/.237 — 6 OPS+
  6. LF — Darin Ruf (R) — .259/.375/.296 — 92 OPS+
  7. DH — Pablo Sandoval (S) — .179/.267/.179 — 29 OPS+
  8. C — Chadwick Tromp (R) — .226/.242/.694 — 88 OPS+
  9. SS — Mauricio Dubón (R) — .200/.213/.289 — 39 OPS+
    RHP — Johnny Cueto — 1-0, 5.14 ERA, 5.48 FIP, 14 K in 18.1 IP

As Pavlovic noted, lefties Belt and Crawford were sitting. It was a really weird thing for there to be literally seven right-handed batters in the lineup, but what Alex DIDN’T know at the time was that the Giants are actually facing a lefty today: Jesus Luzardo. We don’t have to fret about some sort of reverse-split weirdness after all!

And here’s the Oakland squad!

  1. SS — Marcus Semien (R) — .207/.261/.293 — 56 OPS+
  2. 2B — Tony Kemp (L) — .259/.429/.259 — 102 OPS+
  3. 3B — Matt Chapman (R) — .269/.305/.615 — 151 OPS+
  4. 1B — Matt Olson (L) — .149/.313/.418 — 104 OPS+
  5. CF — Mark Canha (R) — .242/.385/.339 — 107 OPS+
  6. LF — Robbie Grossman (S) — .311/.466/.600 — 198 OPS+
  7. DH — Khris Davis (R) — .150/.227/.250 — 35 OPS+
  8. RF — Stephen Piscotty (R) — .224/.291/.408 — 95 OPS+
  9. C — Sean Murphy (R) — .194/.341/.278 — 78 OPS+
    LHP — Jesus Luzardo — 1-0, 2.60 ERA, 3.08 FIP, 17 K in 17.1 IP

Notes

The Dubonnet Club: The reason I selected a photo of Mauricio Dubón as the lede image is because I like the kid a ton and am rooting for him to really break out, especially because I want his fans to refer to themselves as “The Dubonnet Club,” which is a reference to The Great Muppet Caper.

Easy come, Luzardo: As noted above, AL Player of the Week Frankie Montas was scheduled to make the start in the series opener, but was scratched due to back tightness. The Giants will have to make do against top opener Jesus Luzardo.

Enjoy the baseball, be nice, and I’m sure Dubon is going to hit a minimum of one dinger. You can bet on it.*

*Please do not bet on baseball based on the things I say. **

**If you’re going to bet on baseball, make sure to use DraftKings!

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