Last night, the Athletics opened this three-game series against the Detroit Tigers with another loss, falling 13-1 in a game that remained close until the A’s bullpen imploded over the final two innings. The team’s latest blowout home defeat capped a miserable 5-19 July, all but ending the A’s hopes of making a meaningful push during the final two months of the season.
Entering August 20 games under .500 at 45-65, it is imperative that the Green and Gold use the next two months as a springboard toward a more successful 2027 season—one that will hopefully not be disrupted by a looming offseason CBA lockout. The Athletics must find a way to win more games while evaluating their young players to determine who fits into the organization’s long-term plans.
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Before the game, the A’s made an expected pitching change.
One of the team’s young pitchers, right-hander Luis Morales, has seen his performance decline this season. Morales’ meltdown yesterday earned him a ticket back to Triple-A Las Vegas. Left-hander Ben Bowden, who posted a 4.22 ERA in 11 relief appearances for the A’s last season, will take his place in the big-league bullpen. Bowden has spent all of 2026 in Triple-A, going 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA in 32 appearances.
Another talented young pitcher, right-hander Jack Perkins, will start the middle game of this weekend’s series for the A’s. The 26-year-old enters his 27th appearance and eighth start of the season with a 2-6 record, a 6.45 ERA, a 1.36 WHIP and 80 strikeouts over 68 1/3 innings.
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Tonight will be his second start of the homestand. Perkins will look to build on his strong outing against the Boston Red Sox earlier this week. In that game, he was charged with an undeserved loss after allowing two runs on just one hit over 5 2/3 innings. He exited with the A’s leading 1-0 and Boston threatening with two runners on base. His replacement, José Suarez, surrendered a game-winning grand slam, but the loss was still charged to Perkins because the first two runners had reached base before he left the game.
Here’s how manager Mark Kotsay will line up his squad for the second game of the series:
This lineup would make sense for a Spring Training game, not a regular-season contest in the dog days of summer. Unfortunately, for the A’s, that is fitting for a team that has face-planted its way out of contention in a winnable American League West division.
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According to A’s MLB.com reporter Martin Gallegos, Jacob Wilson is serving as the designated hitter again, managing a lower-body issue in addition to his persistent left shoulder injury. Nick Kurtz is also out of the lineup, nursing the lingering thumb issue that still causes pain on certain swings.
Only three players in the starting nine have been with the Athletics all season. One of them, right fielder Lawrence Butler, has not lived up to his contract, although he has started to swing the bat better lately.
If the A’s want to snap this three-game skid, they will need left fielder Tyler Soderstrom and third baseman Tommy White to break out of their mini-slumps. Anything they can get from the players batting eighth and ninth tonight would be icing on the cake.
The A’s offense will face Tigers’ left-hander Framber Valdez, who enters his 22nd start of the season with a 5-7 record, a 4.53 ERA, a 1.38 WHIP and 92 strikeouts over 113 1/3 innings. The 32-year-old has not quite lived up to expectations in his first year in Detroit, alternating between good and bad outings.
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Valdez has plenty of familiarity with the A’s after spending many years as a Houston Astro. That showed last month, when Valdez tossed seven innings of one-run ball with nine strikeouts in his first start against the A’s as a Tiger. The southpaw likely faced a much tougher lineup that day than the one he will see today, so it could be difficult for the hosts to scratch out runs unless Valdez leaves mistake pitches over the plate, something he has been prone to do this season.
And Detroit’s starting nine:
As witnessed last night, this Tigers lineup can score runs in bunches. The club’s top prospect Max Clark, who recorded three hits in his MLB debut, makes this offense even more dangerous. Detroit will look to him and AL Rookie of the Year candidate Kevin McGonigle to lead its lineup for years to come.
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In a game where runs could be at a premium, Perkins and the relievers who follow him will need to do their best to give the Green and Gold a chance to win.
Can the Athletics snap this three-game losing streak and get back in the win column? Win No. 46 awaits. It is time to start August with a victory, one the team can hopefully parlay into a long winning streak. Let’s go A’s!
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Athletics – NBCSCA
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