Welcome to Tuesday everyone! Happy Lou Gehrig Day!<\/p>\n
The A\u2019s are set to begin their next new series, hitting the road to take on the Chicago Cubs<\/a> in the first of three mid-week contests. The Athletics are coming off a terrible 1-5 homestand that saw them drop from first place in the AL West to third behind the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers<\/a>. The A\u2019s are desperate for a win to start this road trip on a high note and they\u2019re running into a Cubs squad that, like the A\u2019s, began the year hot and in first place before going through a recent rough patch and falling in the standings. After the Cubs the A\u2019s will head south to Texas for three games this weekend against the Houston Astros<\/a>, the second time the two clubs will meet this season.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Tonight\u2019s series begins with the Athletics\u2019 young starter Gage Jump, who is set to get the ball for his second career start. The young lefty showed a lot of promise in his first big league outing but also had some expected struggles in a loss to the Mariners. He pitched five full frames, collecting five punchouts while only issuing one free pass. He did allow four runs on nine hits so he\u2019ll be hoping to keep the contact down this evening against a Cubs offense that has never seen him before. How does Jump perform in his second start now that he\u2019s got his debut nerves out of the way?<\/p>\n Jump will be opposed by a veteran of the game tonight in right-hander Jameson Taillon<\/a>. The 34-year-old is now in his 10th big league season with his third team, and his fourth year in a Cubbies uniform. Coming off two strong seasons for Chicago Taillon has seen some regression this season as he\u2019ll enter tonight\u2019s game with a 5.37 ERA in his 11 starts. He\u2019s especially gotten hit hard in recent outings as he\u2019s allowed 16 runs across his past 14 2\/3 innings of work spanning three starts. For his career Taillon has a 4.62 ERA in five career starts against the A\u2019s, including a start last year where he pitched six innings of two-run ball in April.<\/p>\n Wednesday\u2019s contest sees another left-hander on the mound for the road team as Jeffrey Springs<\/a> gets the ball for the 13th time this year. After a hot start to his season Springs hit a rough patch and since then has been more hot and cold on the mound. He\u2019s coming off a so-so start last time out after he allowed five runs but only two of those were earned. The defense has been an issue in recent weeks and it\u2019s been hurting Springs especially hard. The 33-year-old will be hoping to get things back on track this evening against a Chicago club he has minimal experience against (4 games, 1 start, 5.68 ERA).<\/p>\n