Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Hogan Harris delivers during the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Park in Milwaukee on Thu Jun 8, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s have a travel day this Thursday. The team is going to Milwaukee to play the Brewers for three games. Milwaukee is the last stop on the nine-game road trip. The A’s are 2-4 so far on the trip. The A’s won the last two games of the three-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The offense woke up as the A’s put eleven runs on the board Tuesday night and nine on Wednesday. The A’s will want a win on Friday to give them their first three-game win streak of the season.

The Brewers are currently in first place in the NL Central Division with a record of 34-28. The Brewers own a game and 1/2 lead over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Craig Counsell manages Milwaukee.

A’s manager Mark Kotsay has announced his starters for the three-game set. On Friday, Luis Medina will pitch for the A’s. Medina is still looking for his first win of the year. Medina is 0-6. His ERA is 8.19. The Brewers starter will be Adrian Houser (2-1. 3.45 ERA.

Paul Blackburn will go for the A’s on Saturday. Blackburn is 0-0, and his ERA is 6.00. Julio Teheran (1-2, 1.45 ERA) will be on the hill for Milwaukee.

Lefty J.P. Sears (0-3, 4.20) will handle the pitching chores for Oakland on Sunday. The Brewers’ starter will be Freddy Peralta (5-5, 4.55 ERA).

The Brewers’ biggest name is Christian Yellich. Yellich was the MVP in 2018. Since that year, Yellich has never had the great success that he had that year. Currently, Yellich is hitting .257 with seven home runs and 25 RBIs.

Another key player, catcher William Contreras is out of action until next Wednesday. The Brewers acquired Contreras in the three-team trade, resulting in A’s catcher Sean Murphy going to the Braves, Esteury Ruiz and Kyle Muller, and two other Braves players coming to the A’s.

Other Key players for Milwaukee are first baseman Rowdy Tellez, second baseman Owen Miller, and shortstop Willy Adames. The Brew Crew’s designated hitter is Jesse Winker. Winker, who was with Seattle last year, is not producing for the Brewers. Winker is hitting. 204 with no home runs and 13 RBIs. Milwaukee’s best pitcher Corbin Burnes, the Cy Young Award winner two years ago, will not face the A’s this weekend.

The A’s, as mentioned above, have won two straight games. The players and coaching staff know all the news about the possible move to Las Vegas. People must realize that most players and coaching staff live outside the Bay Area. Players are paid mercenaries. They sign a contract for a specific time, and if not re-signed by their current team, they are free to play elsewhere.

The situation in Oakland has to be hard for the A’s players. They would love to play before large home crowds. It must be disheartening to have a big night and not see fans in the stadium. The A’s have had so many crowds, with less than 5000 fans in the seats. The fans that are there love the Green and Gold and are loyal. They are angry at the owner John Fisher, who won’t pay for players. The A’s traded away several stars last before the start of the 2022 season.

Then the club raised ticket prices. In their 56 seasons in Oakland, the A’s have won six AL Pennants, four World Series titles, and numerous division crowns. The people, if they feel they have an owner that will commit to building a winning franchise and spend the money to make the dream happen, will fill the seats in the Coliseum.

As of this writing, the Nevada Legislature has yet to vote on the A’s proposal to move to Las Vegas. If the legislature votes to approve the spending measure, the A’s will be gone. A no vote means the A’s will have to seek other options. It might mean going back to negotiations with the city of Oakland. It might mean John Fisher will have to sell the club. It might mean the A’s will relocate to another city.

The players must wear their uniforms daily and give the team 100% effort. Mark Kotsay has done a great job in not letting the club get discouraged by its poor performance so far this year. Let’s hope things will improve on the field, despite anything else happening.