Oakland A’s second baseman Tony Kemp (5) completes a double play after retiring the sliding San Francisco Giant Brandon Crawford (35) at second base in the bottom of the second inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco Wed Apr 27, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND–The Oakland A’s return home to face the Cleveland Guardians for three games. The A’s split the two-game set with the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Chad Pinder’s leadoff home run was the only run scored in the game. The A’s hope their offense wakes up as the team has had a hard time putting runs on the board in their last five games.

The Guardians, managed by Terry Francona, got off to a good start starting the season at 7-5. However, the team has lost six in a row and are playing the Los Angeles Angels Thursday afternoon in Anaheim. With a record of 7-11, the Guardians are in fourth place in the A.L. Central Division. Francona is hoping to get a win over the Angels before heading to Oakland this weekend.

The pitching probables for the series will see the A’s sending their ace, Frankie Montas, to the mound. Montas is 2-2 for the year with an ERA of 3.28. Montas pitched well against the Texas Rangers last week, but the A’s offense failed to give him any support.

Aaron Civale will go for Cleveland. Civale is 0-2 with an ERA of 9.58. For his career, Civale is 19-17 and has a career ERA of 3.99. On Saturday, Lefty Cole Irvin will be seeking his third win of the season. Irvin is 2-1 with a 3.52 ERA.

Irvin has pitched well in his last two starts. 2020’s Cy Young award winner, Shane Bieber, will go for Cleveland. Bieber is 1-1 with an ERA of 3.27. Bieber is 42-19 lifetime and has a career ERA of 3.27. Neither team has announced their starting pitcher for Sunday’s game.

Key players on Cleveland’s roster are first baseman Owen Miller, second baseman Andres Gimenez, third baseman Jose Ramirez, left fielder Steven Kwan, center fielder Myles Straw, right fielder Josh Naylor, and designated hitter Franmill Reyes. Miller, Gimenez, Ramirez, Kwan, and Naylor are all hitting over .300.

The A’s offense has gone south in the last five games. The A’s have scored just six runs in these five games. Cole Irvin beat the Rangers 2-0 last Sunday, and Paul Blackburn and the A’s bullpen shut out the Giants 1-0 on Wednesday.

A’s manager Mark Kotsay has to be pleased with the bullpen’s work. Dany Jimenz has recorded four saves. Domingo Aceveda, A.J.Puk, Kirby Snead, Sam Moll, Zach Jackson, and Justin Grimm performed well.

The series will see two teams that do not have a lot of familiar names. It will be an opportunity for the fans to see how the new A’s roster performs against many new Cleveland players.

The A’s would like to win at least two of the three games before meeting the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday. On Saturday, the A’s will have their work cut out for them as they face Shane Bieber. It should be a fun series.