Morning everyone and welcome to another Friday!<\/p>\n
Yesterday the A\u2019s wrapped up their four-game series with the Texas Rangers<\/a>, splitting the series and remaining in a tie atop the AL West. Not the best outcome but certainly not the worst. Now these two teams will split up and face a couple other teams before seeing each other again next weekend in Texas. Who will be in first place at that point?<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Looking ahead to the next series, we welcome the Chicago White Sox<\/a> to town for a weekend three-game set. Chicago has been one of the worst teams in baseball history over the past two seasons, and while they are back at the bottom of the AL Central with a 6-13 record they seem to have a bit more fight in them than the past couple of years. Can\u2019t ever take a game for granted but the A\u2019s should have the goal of taking at least two of three against the South Siders, with a sweep being the ultimate goal.<\/p>\n Tonight\u2019s game will feature right-hander Aaron Civale<\/a> on the bump for what will be his fourth start in an Athletics<\/a> uniform. He\u2019s gotten off to a terrific start with his new team as he\u2019s gone at least five innings in each of his starts, which is exactly what the team was hoping for. They\u2019re probably surprised at Civale\u2019s ability so far this season to avoid giving up runs: he\u2019s allowed just three baserunners to cross home plate in 15 2\/3 innings of work. The team will be hoping he can keep that up against Chicago, who will be sending fellow righty Davis Martin<\/a> to the mound to kick off the series for them. Martin has been arguably their best starter in the early going as he\u2019ll bring a 2.50 ERA in three starts so far this year.<\/p>\n After that Friday night matchup it\u2019ll be Luis Severino<\/a> versus Erick Fedde<\/a> on Saturday afternoon followed by a matchup between Jeffrey Springs<\/a> against Noah Shultz on Sunday. That\u2019ll be Schultz\u2019s second career major league game so an excellent chance to jump on a fresh-faced rookie. The pitching matchups favor the Athletics all series but you still gotta go out there and play the games. Severino has had major home struggles so perhaps Saturday is the day he can begin turning that around.<\/p>\n On another note, two of the organization\u2019s top pitching prospects got starts yesterday and did not disappoint. Left-handers Jamie Arnold and Gage Jump both had Thursday assignments and both posted quality outings. Jump, pitching at Triple-A Las Vegas and making his third start, collected eight strikeouts against just one walk in 4 1\/3 innings of work. He allowed a pair of runs on four hits but he\u2019s still sporting a pristine 2.61 ERA through three (short) starts. The team is clearly being cautious as they ramp up the young lefty but this was his longest outing of the year as he got up to 80 pitches. The current major league rotation is full and no one other than Severino is truly struggling so there\u2019s no obvious opening but the team must be happy with how Jump is handling his first taste of Triple-A. Maybe if Jacob Lopez<\/a>\u2019s struggles get worse the team may elect to press fast forward towards the future a little earlier than expected.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n As for Arnold, the 22-year-old southpaw had an even better performance a level lower in Double-A. In 3 1\/3 innings of work (remember, slow ramp up for these two) Arnold punched out 7 of the 10 outs he collected, not allowing a run compared to just one walk. Many expected Arnold to be a fast riser through the system and so far in his first three starts as a professional, he hasn\u2019t done anything to dispel that belief. It\u2019s starting to feel like a foregone conclusion that we will see not only Jump at some point this season but Arnold as well. We\u2019ll see if the A\u2019s get aggressive with these two if they\u2019re still in a playoff race but the smart money would be on seeing these guys in the Green & Gold sooner than later.<\/p>\n That\u2019s all we have today everyone. Game tonight at 6:40. Until then, have a great day everyone!<\/p>\n A\u2019s Coverage:MLB News and Interest:<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Best of X:<\/p>\n Lopez\u2019s leash getting shorter?<\/p>\n Disappointing considering he needs every hit he can possibly get. He had time for jokes earlier this week about his lack of hitting skills, but this wasn\u2019t funny to watch:<\/p>\n ICYMI:<\/p>\n Tough way to see your no-no end, even if you\u2019re just a rookie:<\/p>\n