Athletics, Tigers meet for rubber-game match

Sep 8, 2024, 8:41 AM | Updated: 9:14 am

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 07: Brent Rooker #25 of the Oakland Athletics hits a single against...

(Photo by Brandon Vallance/Getty Images)

Sactown Sports

The Detroit Tigers will look for a series win on Sunday afternoon against the Oakland Athletics as another team bids farewell to the cavernous old Coliseum that the A’s intend to depart at season’s end.

The A’s took the first game of the three-game series 7-6 in 13 innings on Friday as the teams surged offensively after concluding nine innings tied at 2-2.

The Tigers rebounded for a 2-1 win on Saturday.

Can they A’s strike first? They definitely McCann 😏 pic.twitter.com/PcGLfZ5V6L

— A’s on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) September 7, 2024

More on Athletics vs. Tigers

In the first two games, the teams had no trouble getting runners on base. Pushing them across the plate was another story.

Riley Greene (four), Colt Keith (two), Zach McKinstry (two), Parker Meadows (two) and Jace Jung (two) have combined for 12 hits in the series for the Tigers (72-71). But the visitors have gone just 4-for-29 with runners in scoring position, leaving 22 runners on base.

The A’s (62-81) have had a similar lack of success in terms of run production. They’ve compiled 21 hits in the series, led by Lawrence Butler and Brent Rooker with four apiece. But Oakland has failed on 17 opportunities (8-for-25) with runners in scoring position, helping produce 17 left on base.

Perhaps the player who enjoyed Saturday’s win most was a non-participant — Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, who took a no-decision on Friday. Born in the Oakland suburb of Hayward, the early-life A’s fan couldn’t cap his many Coliseum memories with a personal win Friday, but he walks away with a lifetime full of memories.

“That place is really special to me,” Skubal said of the A’s longtime home. “Some people think it’s a bad venue or it’s a dump or whatever, but I actually look forward to going there every year.”

The A’s will move their home games to Sacramento next season in anticipation of calling Las Vegas home in 2028.

The Tigers, meanwhile, haven’t announced a starting pitcher for Sunday’s game, but left-hander Tyler Holton (5-1, 2.31 ERA), who started when the Tigers went the bullpen route on Monday in San Diego, is a leading candidate to pitch first. He retired all four batters he faced in the ninth and 10th innings in the series opener vs. Oakland on Friday.

The A’s have announced that right-hander J.T. Ginn (0-0, 4.30 ERA) will start the final game of the club’s second-to-last homestand.

Ginn left a 2-2 game after six innings in his most recent start Tuesday at home against Seattle, having limited the Mariners to five hits while striking out a season-best seven. He was making just his second start among four appearances at the big-league level.

As the club prepares for what they hope will be a brighter future, the A’s are taking a long look at top prospect Jacob Wilson, who has three hits in his past two starts at shortstop.

“Doesn’t look like the game is too fast for him,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “Sometimes you get young players up here and the game speeds up. I think his clock is pretty good right now in terms of game speed. The at-bats have been good.”

–Field Level Media