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By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — This is the time of the year that fans hunger for. Oakland A’s fans have not seen their team in a playoff race since 2014. The A’s made the playoffs as the second Wild Card team that year. They traveled to Kansas City, Mo. and were eliminated by the Kansas City Royals. Since then, the A’s have been in rebuild mode. The last three seasons found the A’s finishing last in the AL West. Attendance was significantly down as fans were tired of seeing the A’s trade their best players for subpar prospects. The team wants to build a new stadium, but plans to build one at Laney College were scuttled after the A’s thought they had a deal. All the experts picked the 2018 A’s team to finish as cellar-dwellers once again, but this year’s team has put eggs on all the faces of the pundits that picked them to finish last.

Last year, the A’s front office decided to bring up Matt Chapman and Matt Olson to play in first and third bases, respectively. Chapman is fantastic at third base, and his hitting has improved. Chapman may win a Gold Glove this year. Olson is a big power bat and he is also good defensively.

The A’s signed catcher Jonathan Lucroy before the season started. Lucroy is one of the best gunning down runners attempting to steal. He has picked off 20 so far and is tied for the MLB’s lead.

The A’s pitching rotation has been a work in progress. Sean Manaea is the current ace. The big lefty threw a no-hitter against the red-hot Boston Red Sox in April. The A’s also brought back two former players to pitch. Trevor Cahill has been good at home, but not so good on the road. The big righty still can pitch. The other pitcher is Brett Anderson. While the lefty is not a flamethrower, he knows how to pitch and has been a valuable asset in Oakland. In addition, the A’s acquired Edwin Jackson and Mike Fiers–both of whom are veterans who know what to do on the mound. Fiers won a ring with the Astros last year.

The A’s rebuilt their bullpen by sending two of their arguably best relievers, Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson, to the Washington Nationals for Blake Treinen. Treinen has 32 saves and is a cool customer on the mound. They traded Ryon Healy to the Seattle Mariners for Emilio Pagan. They traded for Jeurys Familia. They signed Shawn Kelley. They acquired Fernando Rodney. They brought up rookie Lou Trivino from Triple-A Nashville. This year’s bullpen is loaded.

The A’s have surprised everyone in baseball this year. They are 38-13 since June 16th. They passed the M’s in the race for the second Wild Card slot, and they are now just two games behind the Astros for first place in the AL West.

The A’s players know that they can beat any team in the MLB. They are playing with a lot of confidence. They have one of the best managers in baseball, Bob Melvin. So, the baseball gods in their infinite wisdom, have scheduled the Astros to show up in Oakland this weekend. The Astros, who are defending World Series champions, own a 74-47 record. They are 9-4 against the A’s and have beaten them in all six games played here.

However, the worm has turned as the A’s took three out of four from the Astros in Houston in July. The Astros still have the third best record in the AL, but their express train to the AL West crown has gone slightly off the tracks due to several injuries. The Astros’ All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve has been sidelined with a knee injury and will not be available this weekend. The reigning AL MVP may be back before the end of the year, and he is missed by Astros fans. Shortstop Carlos Correa was activated last week, but he went 1-for-15 before he hit a three-run double Wednesday afternoon. George Springer will be activated off the DL Friday night. Relief pitcher Chris Devenski, catcher Brian McCann, and outfielder Jake Marisnick are still on the DL.

The A’s will still have to deal with a very good Astros’ team. Astros’ catcher Evan Gattis, who probably will DH, gets fired up when he comes to Oakland. He loves to hit here, and he has killed A’s pitching in the past. The A’s shut him down the last time they were in Houston, and they hope to do it again. Astros’ third baseman Alex Bregman has blossomed into a terrific player. He can hit for average and power. First baseman Yuli Gurriel is solid. The Astros will likely use Tyler White or Tony Kemp at second base in place of Altuve. White hit two homers on Wednesday in the Astros’ 12-1 rout. The Astros’ outfield of Marwin Gonzalez, George Springer, and Josh Reddick is solid. All three can hit the ball out of the park.

The A’s will counter with Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, Marcus Semien, and Jed Lowrie. Lowrie started the season on a high note, but he fell off a bit due to an injury, yet he has returned to be the same hitter he was earlier this season. Nick Martini has been doing a solid job as the leadoff hitter and has played well in left field. Mark Canha has been playing in center, but Melvin will move him to left if a lefty is pitching.  Ramon Laureano is a terrific defensive player who will see playing time this weekend. Stephen Piscotty has been solid all year. DH Khris Davis is third in the AL with 34 bombs and is second in the MLB with 93 RBIs.

The Astros have penciled in Charlie Morton to pitch Friday night. Morton is 12-3 and has a 2.88 ERA. Morton has thrown at least six innings in each of his last four starts. He is 4-1 with a 2.73 ERA in 10 road starts this season.

The A’s will counter with Edwin Jackson. Jackson has performed well since being reclaimed from life in the minor leagues. Jackson is 3-0 in his last three starts and has allowed no earned runs in that span. He went 7 1/3 innings against the Angels last Saturday for his longest start of the year.

Astros’ lefty Dallas Keuchel will pitch on Saturday. Keuchel, a former Cy Young award winner, got off to a slow start this year. However, he has evened his record at 9-9 and has a respectable 3.43 ERA. He has been Houston’s best starter the last two months as he went 6-1 and had a 2.19 ERA.

Trevor Cahill will pitch for the A’s. Cahill did not have a good outing last week against the Angels. He allowed four runs and seven hits in just 4 2/3 innings of work. Cahill is 4-2 with a 3.39 ERA.

On Sunday, former MVP and CY Young winner Justin Verlander will be on the mound for the Astros. Verlander has been struggling lately. His record is 11-8, but he is 2-6 with a 3.94 ERA in his last 11 starts. He started the season with a 9-2 record and a 1.61 ERA in his first 15 starts. His next win will be the 200th of his career.

The A’s Sean Manaea will be seeking his 12th win. Manaea went 7 2/3 innings against the M’s Monday night as he picked up his 11th win of the year. Manaea has not allowed more than three runs in any of his starts since May.

This is what baseball is all about. The defending champs going up against the up-and-coming A’s. One team is expected to repeat as the AL representative in the World Series and one team is hoping to dethrone the defending champs. The underdog is going to face the Goliath. The series should be fun. Be there!