Game Thread #111: Athletics at Angels

Even well over one hundred games into the season, the A’s continue to find inventive and fun ways to lose on the road. To top off last night’s affair, Matt Joyce was handed a two game suspension for yelling a dumb thing at a dumb Angels’ fan, and he has been replaced by newest A’s signee Dustin Garneau. He is a catcher with a good ability to make contact and a possesses a strong arm, and he will be in the lineup tonight, batting ninth. Ryan Lavarnway was designated for assignment to make room for Garneau.

Paul Blackburn is coming off of his worst start of his very young baseball career, but still pitched well enough to help his team win, and he has a 3.05 ERA over six starts. Blackburn still isn’t striking batters out at an optimal rate, but has been superb at limiting hard contact and stranding runners on base. He will be opposed by Tyler Skaggs, who is making his first start since April after spending most of this season on the disabled list with a bad oblique.

First pitch is at 6:07. Lineups are below.