by Jerry Feitelberg

file photo by Bay Area News Group: Oakland A’s starting pitcher Chris Bassitt pitching in the first inning against the Texas Rangers at the Oakland Coliseum September 24, 2015

Oakland A’s starter Chris Bassitt will need reconstructive surgery on his right elbow. Cincinnati doctor Dr. Timothy Kremchek said that Bassitt will need ulnar collateral ligament replacement surgery on his right elbow. Surgery is schedule for this Friday. The A’s put Bassitt on the DL  last Friday after a Thursday game where he got lit up in Detroit giving up seven runs and ten hits in 3.2 innings. Bassitt on the season was 0-2 with a 6.11 ERA.

The Oakland A’s will be in Baltimore Friday night to start a three-game series with the Orioles. The Orioles got off to a hot start winning the first seven games of the season but have cooled off recently and have a record of 15-11. They are currently in second-place in the AL East just 1/2 game behind the Boston Red Sox. The Birds play the Yankees Thursday night at Camden Yards.

The A’s will be on their second long road trip to the East Coast. They went on a ten-game trip from April 19th to April 28th when they played the Yankees, Blue Jays, and Tigers. The A’s won the first four games on that trip but lost five of six before coming home to play Houston and Seattle.  The A’s won the first two games against Houston but lost the finale and then were swept by Seattle. The A’s hope to find their mojo as playing Baltimore, Boston, and Tampa Bay will be no picnic.

The Orioles have a lot of power in their lineup. They are led by Manny Machado, Adam Jones, Mark Trumbo, Chris Davis and Matt Wieters. Machado, who is just twenty-three years old and in his fifth season in the Bigs, will be playing at short in place of J.J.Hardy. Hardy broke his foot and is on the DL for six weeks. Machado has been at third but he is very athletic, and there should be no problem with him moving over to short. Machado is hitting .355 and has an astounding OPS of 1.083. The Orioles brought in the power hitter, Mark Trumbo from Seattle. Trumbo is having a terrific year so far. He is hitting .337, with eight home runs and twenty-two RBIs. Perennial All-Star, Adam Jones was sidelined early in the season due to a rib injury. Jones is just now becoming the player that he has been, and that could spell trouble for the A’s pitchers.  The Orioles Chris Davis, not to be confused with the A’s Khris Davis, can really pound the ball and he loves playing in the homer-haven Camden Yards. Davis hit over forty dingers last year and has seven so far this season. He is not hitting for average, but the A’s pitchers have to be careful with him.

The A’s will face Ubaldo Jimenez, Mike Wright, and Chris Tillman over the weekend. Jimenez’ record is 1-3, and he has an ERA of 5.20. Wight is 1-2 and Tillman, who is the ace of the staff, is 3-1 and has an ERA of 2.81. The A’s will use left Rich Hill on Friday. Jesse Hahn and Kendall Graveman will go on Saturday and Sunday. Hill is 3-3 and has not been able to be consistent. He does have a lot of strikeouts, but he did not have command of his pitches in his last start. The Orioles have been very tough on lefties this year, and Hill will have to be on top of his game if the A’s are to get a win.

Should be an interesting series. The Orioles will be trying to get back on the winning track as they have lost six of their last ten The A’s, too, want to right the ship. They have lost nine of the last twelve games played and have fallen into fourth place in the AL West with a record of 13-16. The A’s starting rotation has been a problem as they have lost Felix Dubrount for the season and Chris Bassitt may also have surgery soon. Sonny Gray has not looked like the Sonny Gray of 2015. He lost to Seattle the other night, but Bob Melvin said he thought he pitched well. Gray lasted just two innings against Detroit in his previous start. Jesse Hahn was terrific in his first start of the season against Houston. He did not have a good spring, but he seems to have put it all together while he was in Nashville. The bullpen has been very good but fell apart on Wednesday as the A’s lost to Seattle. The A’s do not have a lineup with a lot of big power hitters as the Jays, Orioles, Tigers and Red Sox. They have players like Josh Reddick, Khris Davis, Stephen Vogt, and Marcus Semien. These guys will hit between fifteen and twenty homers a year, but they are not in the sam league as a Nelson Cruz or a Mark Trumbo or a Joey Bautista. They A’s did have two big boppers, but one plays for the Mets(Cespedes), and the other is with Toronto(Donaldson).

The A’s like to think that they are like the little train that could. They play with confidence, and they never quit. Bob Melvin and his staff are responsible for instilling that ethic in the players.