Happy opening day! Oakland A’s first game of the 2020 season is just a few hours away, and one way to know it’s really getting closer is that the team has announced its starting lineup.
The Athletics are playing against the Los Angeles Angels at 7:10 pm, at home in the Coliseum, and these are the ones who will have to face Angels left-handed starting pitcher Andrew Heaney:
- Marcus Semien, H.H
- Ramon Laureano, CF
- Matt Chapman, 3B
- Khris DavisDH
- Matt Olson, 1 B
- Chad Pinder, 2B
- Mark Canha, LF
- Stephen PiscottyRF
- Sean Murphy, C
Starting on the mound is right-handed Frankie Montas, who last year was easily the best player in a solid (but complicated) rotation. He will take on superstars like Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, and Justin Upton, among others, although newcomer Anthony Rendon is out of the Halos lineup with an oblique injury.
There is only one surprise in the A group, and even that has already been predicted in recent days by internal writers. While second baseman looked like it could be a platoon between left-hander Tony Kemp and young right-hander Franklin Barreto, the Opening Day wink goes to super sub Chad Pinder.
Oakland faces a left-hander at Heaney, so right-hander Pinder gets the call about Barreto in this case, and it’s because Pinder was the team’s top hitter during training camp according to manager Bob Melvin (via Susan Slusser , SF Chronicle). With just 60 games in the season, hot streaks will be invaluable and there’s no time to let someone out of a slump, so Athletics will often prioritize who the best hand is when making some of their lineup decisions. Right now he’s the guy who hit one on the opposite field in Oracle Park a few days ago.
There are plenty of candidates around Pinder that could get going at any time as well, and that lineup above seems terrifying to an opposing pitcher, especially a left-hander. We will find out in a few hours!
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