Okay, no take all my statements from the previous paragraph and the exact opposite was what I expected to see.

May 15, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Dan Straily (67) pitches the ball against the Texas Rangers during the third inning at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

I’ve been hard on Straily for much of the time he’s been with Oakland, and he’s earned that criticism with his inability to command the strike zone, and to keep opposing hitters in the ballpark.  But last year when the possible acquisition came up of the likes of Chase Headley of the San Diego Padres, Straily’s name came up, and the Athletics balked at such an asking price.  For much of the season this year as Straily got knocked around, questions began to arise as to exactly why the A’s weren’t willing to deal the young right hander.  Tonight, he showed us all why the A’s wanted to keep him in the fold.

There wasn’t much in the way of activity, as you could expect in a 1-0 game (just the 13th such game in Arlington’s history).  Straily was the story tonight.  He allowed just 2 hits in 7 scoreless innings, he struck out 5, and walked none.  He was relieved after just 88 pitches, he certainly could have gone further, but with a lockdown bullpen there was no need for Bob Melvin to risk it.  Besides, Straily would be guaranteed to go into his next start versus the San Francisco Giants with a boatload of confidence.  This was a glimpse of the Dan Straily we’ve all been waiting to see, I won’t proclaim that he has arrived just yet, but this was encouraging in a big way.

Yoenis Cespedes provided the game’s lone offense with a solo home run to dead center field in the top of the 3rd inning versus Yu Darvish.  While his numbers may not bear it out, he is making an impact with the long ball.  This was his team leading 9th home run of the season.  The A’s had their chances to give themselves some breathing room, but they failed in those chances, leaving 11 men on base.  They’ve left 26 runners on in the last two games, but they’ve come out on top in both games.

The A’s are 25-22, just 4.5 games behind the division leading Rangers, and have a chance to sweep them in Arlington, which undoubtedly is a rare feat.  They’ll send Jarrod Parker (2-5, 6.04 ERA) to the mound against a former Athletic Ross Wolf who will be making his season debut for the Rangers in place of Nick Tepesch who was scratched due to a blister on his middle finger.  Wolf appeared in 11 games for the A’s in 2010 and posted a 4.26 ERA in 12.2 innings of work.  This is his first major league action since then.  The A’s can give Wolf a rude welcome back to the Show tomorrow as they attempt to complete this sweep of their division rivals.

Apr 20, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Rangers relief pitcher Derek Lowe (55) throws to the Seattle Mariners during the fourth inning at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports

Lowe was recently designated for assignment by the Texas Rangers to make roster space for Josh Lindblom in their rotation (Lindblom pitched against the A’s Monday night). While Lowe struggled in the time he pitched this season, a 9.00 ERA in 13 innings of relief, last year he pitched extremely effectively as a reliever with the New York Yankees. In 23.2 innings pitched he had a 3.04 ERA. He struggled early on last season as a starter with the Cleveland Indians before being released and eventually signing with the Yankees where he became an excellent cog in the Bronx Bombers pen.

Last season, around this time, the A’s made an under the radar move in acquiring a long reliever from the San Francisco Giants via claim. Though he lasted through last season and barely into this one his impact was tangible and key in the A’s run to the postseason. That man was Travis Blackley. Although he was later designated for assignment and claimed by the Astros Blackley’s importance to the club was almost irreplaceable. However another under the radar move could be made.

The A’s should try and claim Lowe from the Rangers and use him in the same capacity as they did Blackley. The A’s starting pitching has been shaky at points this season and in the games where they leave early the team cannot always rely on Evan Scribner to get the job done. The A’s need someone with starting experience and a veteran presence to hold games as they stand to let the bats get a chance to come back into the game when a starting pitcher exits early on. This where Lowe would fit perfectly into the A’s system and help save the team some roster transactions and depth while also limiting other relievers innings. The veteran presence is just a bonus.

If the A’s were to claim Lowe they would only be on the hook for the veteran minimum. For the amount of experience and talent they would get in return it is beyond worth the risk of Lowe continuing to struggle. Sometimes you need to keep your friends close and your enemies closer. In this case it is time to bring in an old enemy into the fold and hopefully replicate the results of Travis Blackley last season. This might be nothing. Or it might end up being another diamond in the rough for A’s GM Billy Beane to hop on.

May 20, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Pat Neshek (left) celebrates the victory with catcher Derek Norris (36) after the game against the Texas Rangers at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

To say Tuesday night’s duel between Dan Straily and Yu Darvish is a mismatch would be an understatement of incredible proportions.  Straily has struggled in Oakland for the most part, save for a couple instances of effectiveness.  Darvish on the other hand is emerging as an ace, and has the ability to strike hitters out with extremely high efficiency.  This doesn’t bode well for the Athletics chances Tuesday night.  Now, I’m not trying to be a pessimist, but that’s the clear reality of the situation.

With the A’s victory in the opener, they immediately eliminate the threat of being swept in Arlington.  If they lost this game, and lose the second game in all likelihood, the series finale on Wednesday would become that much more difficult to take when the Rangers smell a sweep.  This team does possess the best record in the American League at 29-16, so clearly they’re winning a lot of series.

The matchup on Wednesday could possibly favor the Athletics though, as Jarrod Parker and Nick Tepesch square off.  Of course the A’s have never seen Tepesch, and he’s never seen the A’s, so which team that benefits remains to be seen.  With tonight’s win though and the possibly favorable matchup Wednesday the A’s stand a realistic chance of taking this series in Texas.

So while tomorrow may not be destined to go in the A’s favor, if Dan Straily can keep the Rangers offense reasonably at bey, they would stand a chance against their solid but not infallible bullpen if they can get Darvish out of the game.  The “work the pitch count” strategy doesn’t always work, but many teams have a soft underbelly in their bullpen that can be exploited if they are forced into duty.

If the A’s wish to seriously get back in the race for the AL West in the short term, winning this series versus the Rangers will go a long way towards accomplishing that.  After leaving Arlington the A’s will get another chance to play the Houston Astros, against whom they are 6-0 this season.  While I don’t necessarily expect them to continue that absolute dominance by sweeping them again, this is a series they absolutely should be winning with relative ease.  They fattened up their record in the early going against them, and there’s no reason they shouldn’t aim to do that once again this coming weekend.  These are games they have to win, because if they don’t then the ones like Tuesday’s matchup against Yu Darvish become even more tough to deal with.