:mj03: this makes no sense to me.
Houston lost 18 of last 24, Oswalt hasn't been too sharp his last few times out. Kennedy has pitched well this year and A's are on a roll. Plus AL has been dominating NL in interleague. This price on the A's is an absolute steal.
Here is a little write-up about the game.
The Athletics (34-28) and Astros (26-37) have met just once before, when the A's swept a three-game series in Oakland June 7-9, 2002.
Oakland is coming off its first three-game sweep in San Francisco and has won 10 of its last 13 games. The Athletics' starters have not allowed more than two earned runs in an outing over those 13 games - the longest such stretch for the team since April 1978 - and are 7-2 with a 1.20 ERA over that span.
Kennedy has pitched twice over the last 13 games, allowing one run in eight innings of Oakland's 10-inning, 3-2 loss to Minnesota on June 1 and two runs in seven innings of Wednesday's 3-2 win over Boston. The victory was the first since May 10 for Kennedy, who has allowed three or fewer runs in all but one of his 11 starts this season, but has often been plagued by a lack of run support.
"It's nice to actually get a win," he said. "I keep seeing that wins don't really mean anything or establish how well you pitch in a game. But it's always nice to get one."
Kennedy is 1-2 with a 4.79 ERA in three career starts against the Astros, but has not faced them since 2005 while with Colorado.
He will be up against a Houston team that has dropped 18 of its last 24 games, including Monday's 2-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs. The Astros managed just three hits against the Cubs in a makeup of an April 11 game that was postponed because of snow.
The Astros will have ace Roy Oswalt (6-4, 3.38 ERA) on the mound in the series opener, but they have lost the last five games he has started. Oswalt allowed four runs in six innings of Thursday's 7-6 defeat to Colorado, but didn't receive a decision as the bullpen blew the game after he left with a 6-4 lead.
Oswalt, who had received only six runs of support in his previous four starts, hasn't helped himself much lately, allowing at least four runs in three of his last four outings.
Houston lost 18 of last 24, Oswalt hasn't been too sharp his last few times out. Kennedy has pitched well this year and A's are on a roll. Plus AL has been dominating NL in interleague. This price on the A's is an absolute steal.
Here is a little write-up about the game.
The Athletics (34-28) and Astros (26-37) have met just once before, when the A's swept a three-game series in Oakland June 7-9, 2002.
Oakland is coming off its first three-game sweep in San Francisco and has won 10 of its last 13 games. The Athletics' starters have not allowed more than two earned runs in an outing over those 13 games - the longest such stretch for the team since April 1978 - and are 7-2 with a 1.20 ERA over that span.
Kennedy has pitched twice over the last 13 games, allowing one run in eight innings of Oakland's 10-inning, 3-2 loss to Minnesota on June 1 and two runs in seven innings of Wednesday's 3-2 win over Boston. The victory was the first since May 10 for Kennedy, who has allowed three or fewer runs in all but one of his 11 starts this season, but has often been plagued by a lack of run support.
"It's nice to actually get a win," he said. "I keep seeing that wins don't really mean anything or establish how well you pitch in a game. But it's always nice to get one."
Kennedy is 1-2 with a 4.79 ERA in three career starts against the Astros, but has not faced them since 2005 while with Colorado.
He will be up against a Houston team that has dropped 18 of its last 24 games, including Monday's 2-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs. The Astros managed just three hits against the Cubs in a makeup of an April 11 game that was postponed because of snow.
The Astros will have ace Roy Oswalt (6-4, 3.38 ERA) on the mound in the series opener, but they have lost the last five games he has started. Oswalt allowed four runs in six innings of Thursday's 7-6 defeat to Colorado, but didn't receive a decision as the bullpen blew the game after he left with a 6-4 lead.
Oswalt, who had received only six runs of support in his previous four starts, hasn't helped himself much lately, allowing at least four runs in three of his last four outings.
