First pitch: Thursday, 7:05 p.m. ET
Line: Los Angeles -130, Oakland +120, Total: 8

The Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Angels complete a four-game set when they meet on Thursday night.

The Athletics have been all over the board with their play this year and have won back-to-back games just once while the same can be said about losses. They come into this one playing the final contest of a 10-game road trip and are 5-4 through the first nine with Wednesday night’s 9-2 beatdown of the Angels putting them over .500. They had a total of 18 hits with only two extra-base hits in the victory as they went a solid 6-for-16 with RISP. Seven of the nine players in the order had multiple hits as C Stephen Vogt (.362) and 1B Billy Butler (.377) combined to go 4-for-9 with six of the teams RBIs. Los Angeles has not gotten off to the best of starts and comes into this series with losses in four of its past five games. They’ve scored just eight runs in the four recent defeats and managed only four hits in Wednesday night’s loss to this Oakland group. They were 0-for-5 with RISP and saw their bullpen fall apart with eight runs allowed on 10 hits over three innings of work. With two of the team’s four hits, 3B David Freese (.254) continued a solid series in which he has gone 5-for-12 with four RBIs. The hurlers going in this game will be RHP Jesse Chavez (0-0, 0.00 ERA) making his first start of the year after originally coming out of the bullpen and will be going up against RHP Nick Tropeano (1-3, 4.57 ERA in his career) for the host Angels. When playing on the road, the Athletics are 5-4 and will finish off this series against a Los Angeles group which is just 1-5 at home in the early going. It has been a very even series between these two clubs since the start of 2013 as Oakland holds a slight 22-19 edge and are just 10-12 when playing on the road in that time. So far in this series they have actually been outscored 19-16 because of a huge 14-1 win by the Angels on Tuesday when L.A. had 15 hits and the Athletics were poor in the field (3 errors). One trend to keep an eye on includes that Oakland is 78-42 (.650) when the total is eight to 8.5 since the beginning of the 2013 campaign. The injury report still has OF Coco Crisp (Elbow) and 1B Nate Freiman (Back) on the DL with 2B Ben Zobrist listed as questionable for the Athletics as OF Josh Hamilton (Shoulder) is out for the Angels.

Chavez opened some eyes last year as he pitched in 32 games (21 starts) and had a career best 3.45 ERA over 146 IP; 78.2 innings more than his previous high. He did not lose anything off of his strikeouts, mowing down 8.4 batters per nine innings, but did struggle with home runs as batters hit 1.05 HR/9. He started off this season in the pen and has been very effective in four games (6.2 IP), striking out nine batters (1 walk) as he’s left 100% of runners on base. Chavez started against the Angels twice last year, going 1-0 (1-1 team record) with a 2.08 ERA (1.00 WHIP) and had a 14:1 K/BB ratio over 13 innings. The trio of 1B Albert Pujols (7-for-14, 1 HR, 4 RBI), OF Mike Trout (4-for-11, 1 double, 2 HR, 5 RBI) and SS Erick Aybar (5-for-12, 1 double) have pounded the righty as OF Kole Calhoun and 3B David Freese are a combined 3-for-18 with six strikeouts in the matchup. The Athletics bullpen has really had issues, going 1-4 with a 4.25 ERA (1.25 WHIP) and are 2-for-4 in save opportunities. Tyler Clippard (1.80 ERA, 1 save) has been getting save chances as Doolittle is out with injuries and has just two strikeouts with five walks in his five innings on the mound.

C.J Wilson was supposed to start this game for the Angels, but he is now skipping a start due to stiffness in his elbow. Tropeano will take to the mound instead and he is fighting for a consistent roster spot on the big league team, with his performance on Thursday likely coming a long way in deciding whether or not he earns one. He was the 5th round pick by the Houston Astros in 2011 and has started just four games in his big league career, allowing 19 hits and walking nine batters in those contests. He will need to find a way to be effective on Thursday, but it will be difficult against an Athletics lineup that is full of hitters who know how to make contact. It’s been a little rocky for the relievers on the Angels as they are a combined 1-1 with a 3.83 ERA (1.21 WHIP) and have successfully saved 4-of-5 games. Huston Street (0.00 ERA, 4 saves) has been phenomenal at closing out contests, going a perfect 4-for-4 in save chances without allowing a hit or walk.