Oakland Athletics (135) - Thu August 28 ‘08 10:05p
The lowly Oakland Athletics shockingly just took two out of three games from the Los Angeles Angels after holding on for a 6-5 win last night, and we look for their newfound success to continue returning home tonight to face the Minnesota Twins. The Twins have been a very ordinary team on the road this year, where they are just 29-35, and they just lost two out of three games to a Seattle Mariners team that easily owns the worst records in the American League. Minnesota also lost two out of three games in their last trip to Oakland earlier this year. Twins starter Nick Blackburn is slumping after showing some promise after he was recalled, as he has a 5.19 ERA and a ugly 1.67 WHIP in his last three starts, all of them Minnesota losses. Just like his team, Blackburn has not performed as well on the road as he had at home this year, going 3-5 with a 4.56 ERA away from the Twin Cities. Now Dana Eveland of the Athletics also has ugly recent stats, but he has been much better at home here in this spacious ball park, where he us 5-3 with a very nice 3.48 ERA. This will also be his first time ever facing the Twins, which should give him the advantage. It also helps that he has the support of an Oakland bullpen that ranks fifth in the major leagues with a 3.49 ERA. Yes, the Athletics are struggling offensively, but they did score six runs last night and they appear to hold a pitching edge here with both the starters and the bullpens. Look for a third Oakland upset in four games. MLB Free Pick: Athletics +135