5 Keys for Oakland Athletics to Win Series with Los Angeles Angels
April 29, 2013 12:48 am EDT by
Ride the Momentum of Sunday's Win
The Oakland Athletics will welcome the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to Oakland for a three-game series beginning on Monday night. The A's pulled off a thrilling 9-8 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday, aided by some defensive miscues in the tenth inning from Baltimore reliever Pedro Strop and third baseman Manny Machado.
Sunday's win will allow the 13-12 A's to head into the series with their division rival Angels on a positive note. The victory, which owed a lot to the return of Yoenis Cespedes from the D.L., helped Oakland avoid being swept in a four-game series at home to the O's, who look very strong so far in 2013.
The Angels, meanwhile, come into the series 9-15, having dropped three of four themselves over the weekend against the Seattle Mariners. Their early-season slide continues, as the offense continues to be an issue, despite the team's massive payroll and star-heavy lineup.
A few weeks back, Oakland rode into Anaheim and swept the Halos in a three-game series, the first matchup of the year between the teams. Neither team heads into this series particularly hot, though the A's are feeling good after Sunday's win and knowing that Cespedes is back in action once again. If the A's end up winning this series, it'll likely have a lot to do with Cespedes, since the team plays remarkably better with him in the lineup than it does with him on the D.L.
Here are some specific keys to the series - if the A's want to emerge victorious, a few things will have to happen.
Dan Straily's Start on Monday
Starter Dan Straily will get the nod on Monday against Tommy Hanson. Straily, who pitched very well against the Houston Astros in his only start thus far at the big-league level, will start in place of Brett Anderson, who will skip a turn nursing a sprained ankle.
If he's on, Straily will get a lot of strikeouts and pump in strikes at a fast pace - but again, he hasn't made many starts as a big-leaguer, and the Angels' offense is loaded with hitters due to break out. If he's able to string together some effective innings and hand the ball off to the A's bullpen, he'll have a good chance t pick up the victory.
Jarrod Parker's Start on Tuesday
Jarrod Parker is still looking to put together a string of solid outings in 2013 - for the most part, he's had a very disappointing first month of the season. Other than a great game against the Tampa Bay Rays last weekend, Parker has struggled with his location - his fastballs have remained high, rather than low, and he's paid the price. The Angels are loaded with hitters ready to hit high fastballs, so this is a matchup to watch.
Containing Josh Hamilton
The A's have done a solid job abusing Josh Hamilton's tendency to swing at off-speed pitches low and away - and until he demonstrates an ability to lay off those pitcher's pitches and work to his strengths - plate coverage, patience (something he's definitely not shown in his first few weeks with the Angels), he'll continue to struggle.
Of course, he's a very established big-league star, and he's perfectly capable of going 4-4 and hitting the ball all over the field - so containing his potent bat will go a long way for the A's chances.
Getting Josh Reddick Going Offensively
Josh Reddick is still struggling with the bat - his batting average remains well below .200, and lately he's seemed to tweak his hitting approach with a more upright stance.
This new approach has also led to him pressing and trying much too hard to smack the ball everywhere, rather than go with the pitches he's given and have smart, efficient at-bats. The presence of Cespedes in the lineup should bring some calm to Reddick, who definitely needs to stop thinking the entire offense relies on him hitting home runs. Should he be able to do that, it'll help the offense do its job more effectively.
Taking Advantage of the Angels' Bullpen
The Angels' pitching staff is a key reason the team is off to another slow start, and the bullpen is to blame as much as the rotation. In Anaheim, the A's abused the Angels' pen, turning close games into blowouts. If they're able to force Mike Scioscia to make pitching changes and call to the bullpen early in this week's games, they'll have a great chance to take another series from their division rivals.
Adrian Garro is an Oakland Athletics writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter and/ or add him to your network on Google.
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