NewsSweeney to sit out finale vs. Mariners
Oakland (75-83) at Seattle (82-76), 7:10 p.m. PT
By Mychael Urban / MLB.com
10/01/09 1:22 AM ET
SEATTLE -- A's outfielder Ryan Sweeney, nursing sore knees, was held out of the starting lineup Wednesday for the second game of a three-game series against the host Mariners at Safeco Field. Sweeney probably won't be in the lineup for the series finale Thursday, either. "He might be out a couple days," said Oakland manager Bob Geren. "But he's a tough guy. If he can get out there, he will." If he can't, his absence creates opportunities -- for Travis Buck and Matt Carson, in particular. With thoroughly pummeled Scott Hairston out with hip, back and hamstring issues, Eric Patterson has been starting in left field, and that's not going to change. Hairston isn't expected back this season. "Patterson's playing really well," Geren said. "He'll be out there." With Rajai Davis locked in at center field, that leaves Buck and Carson, both of whom spent the bulk of the season at Triple-A Sacramento, as a potential left-right platoon with Sweeney on the sidelines. "I'll probably mix and match with those two," Geren said. Pitching matchupOAK: LHP Brett Anderson (11-10, 4.12 ERA)
Anderson, 21, credits a consistent workout routine with keeping him from wearing down late in the season, and he's looked extremely strong in September. In his penultimate start of the season, he threw 90 pitches -- 60 for strikes -- and improved to 4-0 with a 2.28 ERA in four starts for the month by holding the visiting Rangers to one earned run on six hits without a walk over 5 2/3 innings. Along the way he broke Rick Langford's Oakland rookie record for strikeouts with his 142nd of the season. Anderson has faced the Mariners three times this season, most recenty on Sept. 5, when he beat them with five innings of seven-hit work in Oakland. SEA: RHP Doug Fister (2-4, 4.50 ERA)
The rookie took a perfect game into the fifth inning in his last start before the Blue Jays broke through and saddled him with his third consecutive loss. Fister has shown a penchant for giving up the long ball, having surrendered six home runs in his past four starts and 11 overall in 54 innings. His strikeout-to-walk ratio (32-to-14) is good for such an inexperienced hurler. This will be Fister's second start against the Athletics. He settled for a no-decision on Sept. 6 after holding the A's to one run over five innings. Dribblers ...
Sweeney is batting .360 with 10 doubles, 19 runs scored and 16 RBIs in 22 games this month, and he's batting .319 with 20 doubles since the All-Star break. ... Geren said he hasn't noticed much of a difference in the bat waggle which Buck worked to tone down during his time in the Minors. "It's not that big of a deal," he said of the pre-pitch movement. "It's more a matter of when you do it, not that you're doing it in the first place." ... Former A's slugger Reggie Jackson, aka Mr. October, will co-host a weekly series on Sirius XM Radio throughout the playoffs called "October Nights." The program, co-hosted by Bill Pidto, will air every Tuesday starting Oct. 6 and run for six consecutive weeks on the satellite carrier's Mad Dog Radio channel. Tickets
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• Friday: Athletics (Gio Gonzalez, 6-6, 5.73) vs. Angels (Jered Weaver, 15-8, 3.84), 7:05 p.m. PT
• Saturday: Athletics (Dana Eveland, 2-3, 7.09) vs. Angels (Scott Kazmir, 9-9, 5.06), 1:05 p.m. PT
• Sunday: Athletics (Edgar Gonzalez, 0-4, 5.51) vs. Angels (Joe Saunders, 15-7, 4.62), 1:05 p.m. PT
Mychael Urban is a national writer for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
