Houston Astros’ Kyle Tucker, bottom, steals third base against Oakland Athletics third baseman Jace Peterson during the top of the fourth inning at the Oakland Coliseum Sun Jul 23, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

Once again, it will be the Battle of the Bay or the Bay Bridge Series. The choice will be yours. The San Francisco Giants will host the first two games this year on Jul 25 and 26 at Oracle Park. Then visit Oakland on August 5th and 6th to finish the series.

On Tuesday night, many A’s fans will continue their reverse boycott to protest the team’s possible relocation to Las Vegas. The fans want A’s owner, John Fisher, to hear their voices and keep the team in Oakland.

The A’s currently own the worst record in all of baseball. The A’s are 28-74. The other team challenging Oakland for the worst record is the Kansas City Royals, who are slightly better, 28-73.

The Giants are in third place in the National League West Division with a record of 54-47. They trail the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers by 4 and 1/2 games. The Giants are returning home after an 11-game road trip.

The Giants, unfortunately, have lost their last six games. In the last three losses, the Giants scored just one run in those three games. They would love nothing better than winning both games from the A’s. The A’s starting pitching staff’s ERA over six runs per game is the worst in baseball. The Giants’ hitters want to exploit the A’s poor pitching.

The Giants have yet to announce their starters for the series. The A’s will send Ken Waldichuk to the mound Tuesday night. Waldichuk’s numbers are 2-6, ERA 6.75. On Wednesday, another left, Hogan Harris, will go for Oakland. Harris is 2-4, and his ERA is 6.11.

The Giants, who won 107 games in 2021, and 81 last year, are in contention to make the playoffs as a Wild Card team. The Giants don’t have a superstar player, but they do have good players. The Giants’ outfield will feature Austin Slater, Luis Matis, and Michael Conforto.

Joc Pederson and Mike Yazstremski are available, also. The infield, minus Brandon Crawford, out with a knee problem, will have JD Davis at third base, Casey Schmitt at shortstop, David Villar at second base, and LaMonte Wade Jr at first base.

Wilmer Flores, who is hitting. 296 with 12 homers and 31 RBIs can fill in at first or third. Rookie Patrick Bailey is the catcher. Blake Sabol is the backup and can fill in the outfield if needed.

The Giants’ bullpen has been solid all year. Taylor and Tyler Rogers have pitched well for the Orange and Black. Former A’s starter Sean Manaea, now a reliever, hopes to see action against his former team. The Giants’ closer, Camilo Doval, has been outstanding and has recorded 30 saves this season.

The A’s will be without the services of first baseman Ryan Noda. Noda is out with a facial fracture. Seth Brown or Tyler Soderstrom are available to play first base. The A’s have some new faces on the team. Soderstom and Zack Gelof were introduced to the fans on the last homestand. Outfielder Cody Thomas is also a new face. As a team, the A’s have the lowest team batting average in baseball. Many of the regulars are barely over the Mendoza Line.

However, as they say in baseball, “You never know what’s going to happen.” The A’s would love to upset the Giant’s apple cart. The Giants want to continue the A’s misery. It should be a fun two-game series.

Starters for Oakland Ken Waldichuk (2-6 ERA 6.75) for San Francisco the Giants most likely will be using an opener at pitcher a 6:45pm PT first pitch at Oracle.