The Oakland Athletics were pegged by many as one of the worst teams in Major League Baseball entering the 2024 season, but have been more competitive than expected with a 7-4 record in their last 11 games as they enter their series on the road against the Cleveland Guardians on Friday.
Oakland Athletics vs. Cleveland Guardians (-175, 8.5)
The Athletics have been carried by their pitching in this recent surge, ranking fifth in road ERA with a mark of 2.60 while their overall 3.72 ERA ranks ninth.
Oakland will look to Joe Boyle for the start on the mound on Friday, who is making just his seventh career start, but has looked like anything but a rookie in this small sample size, posting a 3.45 ERA and 3.06 fielding independent with 9.4 strikeouts and 0.3 home runs allowed per nine innings.
The lone issue Boyle has faced is issuing 4.1 walks per nine innings, which can lead to an elevated pitch count and potentially an early departure.
Fortunately for Oakland, its bullpen to this point has been one of the best in the league, ranking third with a 2.58 ERA, though Cleveland’s 2.29 ERA in the bullpen is even better, ranking second among MLB teams.
The Guardians will look for starting pitcher Triston McKenzie to get online after a rough beginning to the 2024 season that has seen him post a 6.23 ERA, allowing 12 walks and two home runs while getting just five strikeouts in his 13 innings this season.
McKenzie is trying to work himself back into shape following a 2023 season in which he was limited to 16 innings pitched due to injury following a stellar 2022 season in which he posted a 2.96 ERA with 8.9 strikeouts and 2.1 walks per nine innings.
Helping McKenzie’s cause is for as good as the Athletics pitching has been, the lineup has been that bad to start the season, ranking 29th in the league in scoring with 2.95 runs per game and having a collective batting average of .209.
In recent seasons, Cleveland has been more of a pitcher’s park and that has been the case in 2024 with the Guardians entering Thursday with a .261 road batting average with over 5.7 runs per game while posting a .232 batting average at home with just under 4.7 runs per game.
Both teams in this matchup are built on pitching and with the Athletics current struggles at the plate and flourishing bullpen, this game will be dominated by the pitchers.
The Play: Athletics vs. Guardians Under 8.5
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