The A's send Bartolo Colon to the mound against his original major league team Saturday night as they look for a third straight victory.
Oakland (63-55) has wavered a bit following its stunning July surge, but it remains within one-half game of postseason position behind Baltimore and Detroit.
Seven scheduled games against Cleveland (54-65) this month could help. The first of those was Friday, and the Athletics overcame a four-run deficit created by Shelley Duncan's grand slam to win 6-4.
The Indians have lost 12 of 13 on the road, which may give Colon (9-9, 3.55 ERA) a good shot at reaching double-digit wins for the first time since 2005. He was 21-8 that year with the Los Angeles Angels to win the AL Cy Young Award.
The right-hander had his first crack at the feat Sunday, coming into that game having won three straight starts without allowing an earned run. He was well on his way to another strong outing, yielding one run through the first five innings, but he gave up five runs in the sixth in a 7-3 road loss to the Chicago White Sox.
Returning to Oakland may help him get back on track. Since the beginning of June, he's posted a 1.86 ERA in eight home starts, walking just five over 53 1-3 innings in that stretch.
The A's have won 24 of 34 at home.
Starting pitching has been a major problem lately for the Indians, whose rotation has a 7.92 ERA over the last 20 games, and Corey Kluber (0-1, 8.56) hasn't been able to help as he searches for his first major league victory.
Opponents are batting .355 in his three starts since he was called up Aug. 2, and the right-hander gave up six runs in 3 1-3 innings of Sunday's 14-1 loss to Boston.
Both leadoff men continued their slumps Friday, with Cleveland's Jason Kipnis going 0 for 4 and Oakland's Coco Crisp 0 for 5. Kipnis is batting .118 in his last 15 contests, while Crisp is stuck in a 2-for-21 rut.
Indians are 17-35 in their last 52 road games.
Indians are 18-39 in their last 57 games as a road underdog.
Indians are 7-21 in their last 28 overall.Indians are 3-12 in their last 15 games as an underdog.
Indians are 3-12 in their last 15 games following a loss.
Athletics are 24-8 in their last 32 games vs. a right-handed starter.
Athletics are 5-0 in Colons last 5 starts following a team loss in their previous game.
Athletics are 5-1 in Colons last 6 home starts.
Athletics are 4-1 in Colons last 5 home starts with the total set at 7.0-8.5.
Athletics are 4-1 in Colons last 5 starts.
Athletics are 4-1 in Colons last 5 starts on grass.
Corey Kluber last 3 starts 8.57 ERA and 1.903 WHIP....man this guy sucks
Bartolo Colon last 3 starts 2.18 ERA and 1.113 WHIP
How this Kluber kid ever got a pitching job is really beyond me. Seriously i've never seen anything good out of him. While the A's seem to never score i think this will be their chance to actually do just that. I look for Oakland to finish off the Indians tonight with a win. I'm on the RL, no sense in laying -160 on this or any other game. Oakland RL it is. Good Luck
OAK ATHLETICS -1½+125
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