A’s right-hander, Daniel Gossett, makes his return to the big leagues in today’s matinee as the Green and Gold look to close out their 6 game road trip with a victory. Gossett will be making his 11th start of the season for the A’s after spending the last 20 days with Triple AAA Nashville where he compiled 3 starts, giving up 8 runs in 15 2/3 innings with 17 strikeouts and 4 walks.
***MLB.tv is showing today’s game as their “Free Game of the Day” (there goes my work day!)
The last time we saw Gossett pitching for the big league club, he pitched a gem against the bullies across the bay, tossing 7 innings of one run ball in the A’s 6-1 victory over the Giants. He was optioned down to Nashville the next day (August 3rd, 2017) to make room for Kendall Graveman’s return off the DL.
Gossett’s start today is part of a intentional effort for the A’s to give lefty starter, Sean Manaea a few extra days of rest. Manaea’s turn in the rotation is due today, but Gossett’s call-up means the A’s with an off-day tomorrow, can push back Manaea to the weekend home series in Oakland against the Texas Rangers. With Manaea’s velocity consistently down over his post All-Star break starts, the move seems to be a wise one for BoMel and the A’s brass. With Gossett being recalled today, A’s reliever Michael Brady will be optioned back to Nashville for the third time in 2017.
Here are 5 interesting facts about today A’s starting pitcher Daniel Gossett:
#1 – While at Clemson University, Daniel majored in parks, recreation & tourism management (I wonder if he could cousult Dave Kaval on the new ballpark process or at least give a decent tour of these?)
#2 – Gossett went to high school in South Carolina with former 49ers drafted running back, Marcus Lattimore (at James F. Brynes High School in Duncan, South Carolina) and he was at Clemson the same time as NFL Wide Receivers, DeAndre Hopkins, Martavis Bryant. Adam Humphries and Sammy Watkins (How did this team not win the BCS Title?)
#3 – Speaking of high school, in Gossett’s senior year, he struck out 96 batters in 49 innings and was drafted in the 16th round of 2001 MLB draft by the Boston Red Sox, but chose to instead play at Clemson.
#4 – A’s Minor League Pitching Coordinator, Gil Patterson, taught Gossett how to throw a cutter in minor league spring training in 2016 and Gossett’s professional career has skyrocketed ever since
#5 – Gossett’s nickname since high school has been “Goose.” Legend has it that in a 2011 high school playoff game, a flock of geese flew over the baseball field right before “Goose” Gossett knocked in the go ahead runs with a single.
The Orioles will counter Goose Gossett with a promising young right-hander of their own, Dylan Bundy. Bundy has 12 wins for the O’s in 2017 in 140 innings of work. Bundy is from Oklahoma and was the Orioles 1st round selection (4th overall) in the 2011 MLB Draft. He was throwing 100 mph as a high school senior and was named 2011 Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year, 2011 Baseball America High School Player of the Year and the 2011 USA Today National Player of the Year and found himself in the big leagues as a 19 year old, just one year out of high school. Sadly, in 2013, Bundy would undergo the knife with Tommy John surgery and wouldn’t make it back to the big leagues for another 1,290 days (April 7, 2016). Bundy has never pitched more the 110 innings in any professional season, so Buck Showalter and the O’s front office are taking a cautious approach with him in the season’s final 6 weeks. Bundy comes in to today’s game working on 10 days rest.
Bundy will face an A’s line-up that includes the red-hot hitting Ryon Healy (hitting .382 over his last 14 games) and Khris Davis and Matt Olson who both homered against Bundy two weeks ago in Oakland. Good news to see Marcus Semian back in the starting line-up today after he sat out yesterday nursing a sore wrist.
Here is this afternoon’s starting line-ups from Baltimore (Game-time weather: 83 Degrees and Cloudy):
In the words of another immortal Bundy,
“It’s only a game if you win, but if you lose it’s a stinking waste of time.”
-Al Bundy, Married with Children
