News
Anderson's following forced to wait
Oakland (48-62) at Kansas City (43-67), 11:10 a.m. PT
By Rustin Dodd / MLB.com
08/08/09 10:40 PM ET
KANSAS CITY -- Brett Anderson had more than 50 friends and family members in town on Saturday to watch him pitch. They had to wait one more day. Anderson will take the mound on Sunday against the Royals at Kauffman Stadium in the final game of a three-game series. He was supposed to start on Saturday, but fellow starter Dallas Braden landed on the disabled list on Saturday, causing A's manager Bob Geren to remake his rotation. The end result was that Anderson got pushed back one day. But this one could be worth the wait. Kansas City is less than five hours from Anderson's family's home in Stillwater, Okla., and he's expecting a large contingent in attendance on Sunday. "All my dad's brothers and sisters live here in Kansas City," Anderson said. "Some of my mom's side lives in South Dakota, so they're going to make the trip down -- and a lot of my extended family." Anderson, a 21-year-old rookie, will face Kansas City's second-year starter Luke Hochevar in a matchup of promising American League arms. Anderson, who is making his 21st start, is 3-1 with a 1.93 ERA over his past seven starts. He allowed just two earned runs over 7 2/3 innings against the Rangers in his most recent start. He'll hope to improve on those numbers with his family in the stands on Sunday. "Other than the Ballpark in Arlington, Kansas City is as close as you can get," Anderson said. Pitching matchupOAK: LHP Brett Anderson (6-8, 4.20 ERA)
Anderson only got into trouble in one inning on Monday, loading the bases with nobody out in the fifth. He limited the damage to one run, though, inducing a 6-4-3 double play, then recording a strikeout to get out of the inning. The 21-year-old rookie is holding opponents to a .182 average over his past seven starts. This is his first nod against the Royals. KC: RHP Luke Hochevar (6-4, 5.40 ERA)
Hochevar's first start in August was nearly as shaky as his last start in July. After allowing seven runs in six innings against Baltimore on July 30, Hochevar gave up four runs in five innings against Seattle his last time out. Hochevar still had quality stuff -- he struck out eight in his five innings -- but his pitch count soared to 112 by the end of the fifth. Hochevar has looked like a different pitcher in his past four outings. The young right-hander has 34 strikeouts in his last 24 1/3 innings, and that's mostly been a good thing. He finished 6-2 in June and July, and he's starting to show flashes of becoming an above-average Major League starter. Tidbits
Entering Saturday, the A's had 58 doubles since the All-Star break -- the most in the Majors. ... The A's will start a rookie pitcher for the ninth straight game on Sunday. The last team to have a rookie starting pitcher for nine straight games was the 1997 St. Louis Cardinals, who started a rookie in each of their last 19 games. ... Entering Saturday, the A's also had a Major League-leading 26 stolen bases since the All-Star break. Tickets
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• Monday: Athletics (Gio Gonzalez, 3-2, 6.31) at Orioles (Jeremy Guthrie, 7-11, 5.28), 4:05 p.m. PT
• Tuesday: Athletics (Trevor Cahill, 6-11, 5.13) at Orioles (TBD), 4:05 p.m. PT
• Wednesday: Athletics (Vin Mazzaro, 3-8, 5.70) at Orioles (TBD), 10:35 a.m. PT
Rustin Dodd is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
