Posted on Fri, Jun. 25, 2004
A's brace for invasion of hot Giants
A's notes
ANAHEIM -- Their road trip to near-oblivion is over. Their bullpen woes may finally have been solved. But the A's probably had to fend off the instinct to breathe a big sigh of relief on Thursday.
Simply put, they don't have any time. The Giants will invade Network Associates Coliseum tonight for the first game of their annual interleague get-together, and in case the A's weren't looking, their neighbors from across the bay are in first place.
"It seems like every team we play is in first place," A's manager Ken Macha said. "We go to Boston, they're in first place. The Chicago White Sox come to our place, they're in first place. Cincinnati comes in, same thing. We go to St. Louis, first place. Oh well, let's get 'em while we're hot."
Overall, that may not be the case. The A's 2-1 win over the Anaheim Angels on Thursday concluded a 3-7 road trip. But it would be hard to dispute the A's home credentials lately. They're 23-10 home mark is second-best in the majors to the New York Yankees, and they're 19-3 at the Coliseum since May 5.
But most visitors during that stretch haven't been as hot as San Francisco. The Giants are 26-9 since Jason Schmidt's 144-pitch one-hitter against the Chicago Cubs on May 18. On Thursday, they completed a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Schmidt, by the way, will get the ball tonight. He's tied for the NL lead in wins with nine, third in ERA at 2.26, and second in strikeouts with 103. He hasn't lost since April 21 and made the Boston Red Sox look silly in pitching his second one-hitter of the season Sunday.
"He has explosive stuff," Macha said. "He has a powerful arm. He's lights out, regardless of 144 pitches."
Barry Bonds, of course, bring with him an entirely different set of issues. He entered Thursday's game against Los Angeles leading the NL in on-base percentage (.612) and slugging percentage (.774). He was also second in batting (.355), tied for third in homers (18) and, with 101 already, was on pace to walk a record 227 times.
"We're not going to treat it any differently than we did last year," Macha said, when asked about facing Bonds. "We'll take a look at the situation. If it's going to impact the game, we'll walk him. ... I'm still amazed (that) with the number of walks he gets and with not being pitched to all the time that when he gets one, he still hits it out. To maintain that sharpness is something else."
If nothing else, the A's received a bit of a pre-Bonds preview during the Angels series. Anaheim right fielder Vladimir Guerrero has been doing about as much damage in the AL -- he's second in hitting (.354), tops in hits (101) and RBI (65) and tied for third in homers (17) -- and he did his share against the A's, going 8-for-15 with six RBI in the four-game series.
Short hops
Right fielder Jermaine Dye was 1-for-14 career against Anaheim reliever Scot Shields before smacking a two-run homer to center off him in the sixth. Shields replaced Angels starter Ramon Ortiz, who allowed three hits in 5-1/3 innings. "I didn't have a problem with the move," Dye said. "It's probably the right one to make." ... The A's are forecasting a crowd of 40,000 tonight and 45,000 on Saturday and Sunday for their annual interleague home series against the Giants. The pitching matchups: Tonight -- Barry Zito (4-4, 4.81) vs. Schmidt (9-2, 2.26), 7:05 p.m.; Saturday -- Rich Harden (3-5, 4.25) vs. Kirk Rueter (3-6, 4.73), 6:05 p.m.; Sunday -- Tim Hudson (7-3, 2.98) vs. Dustin Hermanson (2-2, 4.68), 1:05 p.m.
-- Rick Hurd
A's brace for invasion of hot Giants
A's notes
ANAHEIM -- Their road trip to near-oblivion is over. Their bullpen woes may finally have been solved. But the A's probably had to fend off the instinct to breathe a big sigh of relief on Thursday.
Simply put, they don't have any time. The Giants will invade Network Associates Coliseum tonight for the first game of their annual interleague get-together, and in case the A's weren't looking, their neighbors from across the bay are in first place.
"It seems like every team we play is in first place," A's manager Ken Macha said. "We go to Boston, they're in first place. The Chicago White Sox come to our place, they're in first place. Cincinnati comes in, same thing. We go to St. Louis, first place. Oh well, let's get 'em while we're hot."
Overall, that may not be the case. The A's 2-1 win over the Anaheim Angels on Thursday concluded a 3-7 road trip. But it would be hard to dispute the A's home credentials lately. They're 23-10 home mark is second-best in the majors to the New York Yankees, and they're 19-3 at the Coliseum since May 5.
But most visitors during that stretch haven't been as hot as San Francisco. The Giants are 26-9 since Jason Schmidt's 144-pitch one-hitter against the Chicago Cubs on May 18. On Thursday, they completed a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Schmidt, by the way, will get the ball tonight. He's tied for the NL lead in wins with nine, third in ERA at 2.26, and second in strikeouts with 103. He hasn't lost since April 21 and made the Boston Red Sox look silly in pitching his second one-hitter of the season Sunday.
"He has explosive stuff," Macha said. "He has a powerful arm. He's lights out, regardless of 144 pitches."
Barry Bonds, of course, bring with him an entirely different set of issues. He entered Thursday's game against Los Angeles leading the NL in on-base percentage (.612) and slugging percentage (.774). He was also second in batting (.355), tied for third in homers (18) and, with 101 already, was on pace to walk a record 227 times.
"We're not going to treat it any differently than we did last year," Macha said, when asked about facing Bonds. "We'll take a look at the situation. If it's going to impact the game, we'll walk him. ... I'm still amazed (that) with the number of walks he gets and with not being pitched to all the time that when he gets one, he still hits it out. To maintain that sharpness is something else."
If nothing else, the A's received a bit of a pre-Bonds preview during the Angels series. Anaheim right fielder Vladimir Guerrero has been doing about as much damage in the AL -- he's second in hitting (.354), tops in hits (101) and RBI (65) and tied for third in homers (17) -- and he did his share against the A's, going 8-for-15 with six RBI in the four-game series.
Short hops
Right fielder Jermaine Dye was 1-for-14 career against Anaheim reliever Scot Shields before smacking a two-run homer to center off him in the sixth. Shields replaced Angels starter Ramon Ortiz, who allowed three hits in 5-1/3 innings. "I didn't have a problem with the move," Dye said. "It's probably the right one to make." ... The A's are forecasting a crowd of 40,000 tonight and 45,000 on Saturday and Sunday for their annual interleague home series against the Giants. The pitching matchups: Tonight -- Barry Zito (4-4, 4.81) vs. Schmidt (9-2, 2.26), 7:05 p.m.; Saturday -- Rich Harden (3-5, 4.25) vs. Kirk Rueter (3-6, 4.73), 6:05 p.m.; Sunday -- Tim Hudson (7-3, 2.98) vs. Dustin Hermanson (2-2, 4.68), 1:05 p.m.
-- Rick Hurd
