Oakland Athletics begin series against Los Angeles Angels

Promising young right-hander Jose Soriano is expected to return from the injured list and face a team that has inflicted pain on him in previous outings when the Los Angeles Angels open a three-game road series against the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday night.

The series is a rematch of a three-game home sweep by the Angels last week, in which the hosts defeated the A’s 17-8.

The Angels finished the week with three wins in four games against the Detroit Tigers, matching their season-high of six wins in the last seven games. Oakland has lost seven of eight games.

One inning, three home runs 😤 pic.twitter.com/k7gqIIl14W

— A’s on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) June 29, 2024

Preview Athletics vs. Angels

“We’re playing good baseball,” Angels pitcher Tyler Anderson said after watching his team overcome a seven-run deficit in a 7-6 home loss to the Tigers on Sunday. “It was great to see the guys get such good batting opportunities and score five runs (in the ninth). Obviously, we didn’t finish it. But the guys tried hard, which was great and always good to see.”

Soriano (4-5, 3.48 ERA) has been in good form, capping off a career-best eight-plus inning performance against the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 12 before going to the injured list with an abdominal infection. He hasn’t pitched since and enters Tuesday’s game with wins.

The 25-year-old played twice as a reliever against the A’s last season and both times it didn’t go well.

Last September, he entered a 4-4 game in the seventh inning in Oakland and promptly allowed six runs (four earned), three of them on a double by Shea Langeliers, in a 10-6 loss.

Then, in the penultimate game of the season, he entered the game in the eighth inning with a 3-2 lead, but failed to tie the game and then allowed a three-run home run by Langeliers, resulting in a 7-3 home loss.

In these two games, his only direct duels with the A’s in his life, he is 0-1 with an ERA of 33.75.

A’s right-hander Mitch Spence (4-4, 4.35) had a similar experience last Tuesday when he faced the Angels for the first time in his career, allowing six runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings in a 7-5 road loss, with Mickey Moniak’s grand slam contributing to a five-run fourth inning.

The 26-year-old has pitched until the sixth inning in each of his last six starts and has allowed two or fewer runs three times.

For the second year in a row, the A’s will face a team they lost to on the road last time. Last time, against the Kansas City Royals, the A’s won two of three home games after going 3-0 in the Midwest.

The A’s have a 14-14 record at home since April 29, compared to just three wins in their last 27 road games.

Like two weeks ago, the A’s had a day off on the Monday before the home game, which manager Mark Kotsay liked.

“We’ve played better at home than we have away,” he said. “We have (Monday) off, so it’s another day to get away and refocus to be ready to play again on Tuesday.”

–Field level media

Upcoming Oakland Athletics schedule

• Tuesday, July 2 – Thursday, July 4 – against Los Angeles Angels
• Friday, July 5 – Sunday, July 7 – against Baltimore Orioles
• Tuesday, July 9 – Thursday, July 11 – @ Boston Red Sox
• Friday, July 12 – Sunday, July 14 – @PhiladelphiaPhillies
• Monday, July 15-Thursday, July 18 – MLB All-Star break
• Monday, July 15 – Home Run Derby
• Tuesday, July 16 – MLB All-Star Game in Arlington, Texas

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