by Jerry Feitelberg

UPI file photo: Oakland A’s manager Bob Melvin (8) and A’s pitching coach Curt Young (41) pulling bubble gum study the A’s dire pitching situation

OAKLAND–The Oakland A’s welcome the Detroit Tigers to the Oakland Coliseum Friday night to start a three-game series. The A’s met the Tigers in Detroit in late April and lost three of the four games played there. Rich Hill beat the Tigers 5-1, but the Tigers pinned losses on Kendall Graveman, Sonny Gray, and Chris Bassitt. Bassitt had Tommy John surgery and is out for the season. Gray is also on the DL with a strained trapezius muscle.

The Tigers arrive in Oakland with a record of 23-23. They have had issues with their starting rotation, bullpen, and offense. Tigers’ manager Brad Ausmus is on the hot seat as the team has not lived up to expectations. However, they have started to play better and have won eight of their last ten games.

The Tigers signed free agent pitcher Jordan Zimmermann to a big contract in the off-season. Zimmermann has been the ace of the staff and has a record of 7-2 and a sparkling ERA of just 2.52. Zimmermann suffered a mild groin strain in his last outing and may not be available to face the A’s this weekend. Michael Fulmer will go for Detroit Friday night. Fulmer has a record of 3-1 so far this season. The rest of the Tiger rotation is iffy at best. Anibal Sanchez is 3-6 and is not having a good year. He has started ten games, and the Tigers have lost seven of his last eight outings. He has given up at least five runs in all but one of the losses. Sanchez has been rocked for eleven home runs and is tied second worst in the AL. Mike Pelfrey is 0-4 and has been a huge disappointment for Detroit. Veteran righty Justin Verlander, former Cy Young winner, and MVP is just 4-4 and does not seem to be the Verlander of old. The bullpen is staffed by Mark Lowe, Kyle Ryan, Alex Wilson, Justin Wilson, and Francisco Rodriguez. Rodriguez has fourteen saves so far. The ERAs for Alex and Justin Wilson are 4.24 and 4.50 respectively while Lowe’s is an astronomical 6.61.

The Tigers have a very potent offense with a lot of big boppers in their lineup. Third baseman Nick Castellanos is having a good year. He is hitting .337 with nine home runs and thirty-one RBIs. Second baseman Ian Kinsler is hitting .306 and has ten homers and twenty-four RBIs. The big first baseman, Miguel Cabrera, comes into Friday’s game hitting .322, and he has eleven home runs and thirty RBIs so far. Other players that can do damage include J.D.Martinez, Justin Upton, and Cameron Maybin. Designated Hitter Victor Martinez is always a threat to do damage.

The A’s starting rotation is not very good right now. Injuries have really hurt the A’s, but they have to hope that the starters will get better. Left Sean Manaea will pitch for Oakland Friday night. Manaea’s record is 1-2, but the jury is out as to whether or not he can pitch at the Major League level. Manaea needs to be more consistent if he is to stay with the A’s. Kendall Graveman is 1-6, and he also has been inconsistent. Graveman needs a couple of good outings to build his confidence. He seems to be okay for the first two or three innings but loses it in the fourth, fifth or sixth, if he makes it that far. Jesse Hahn is also a work in progress and needs to pitch better. Zach Neal, filling in for Sonny Gray, had a bad game in Seattle and may be headed back to Nashville. Sonny Gray is on the DL and, hopefully, will be the Sonny Gray of old when he returns. The A’s need him.

The A’s bullpen has improved this year. Yes, Ryan Madson blew the save and the game Tuesday night in Seattle. Bad things happen during the season. Madson, Axford, Doolittle and Fernando Rodriguez have been stellar for the most part.

Injuries to key players have hurt the A’s attack. Jed Lowrie just came off the DL. Josh Reddick will be out for another four weeks. Danny Valencia was on the DL with a hamstring issue earlier this year. Valencia and Khris Davis got hot for a while but appear to have cooled off. Chris Coghlan has had a lot of playing time due to injuries to other players, cannot seem to get it going. His batting average is about a buck fifty-three. Marcus Semien, Khris Davis, Yonder Alonso all have batting averages below .250. The A’s do not have big boppers similar to those in the Tiger lineup.  The A’s are currently eight games under .500 with a record of 20-28. After the Tiger series, the A’s will play four clubs with losing records and, hopefully, they can get back on track. The A’s play Minnesota, Houston, Milwaukee and Cincinnati. The Twins are having a terrible year and have a record of 12-34. Houston is at 19-28, and just 1/2 game behind the A’s in the AL West. Milwaukee is at 20-26 and Cincinnati is at 15-32. If the A’s can’t improve their record against these teams, it could be a long, long season for the Green and Gold.