May 5, 2013; Bronx, NY, USA; Oakland Athletics manager Bob Melvin (6) removes starting pitcher Dan Straily (67) from the game against the New York Yankees during the sixth inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

Dan Straily will aim to set the tone for the series and he will pitch the first game for the Athletics. Straily won his very first start back on April 5 against the Houston Astros when he dominated and ended his outing with eleven strikeouts. Since then, he has made two starts–spelling Brett Anderson who is on the disable list–and has not factored in the decision of either start. In both of his last two starts, Straily has combined to strikeout ten hitters while allowing nine earned runs. Straily is 1-0 with a 5.94 ERA over three starts this season.

Hisashi Iwakuma will take the mound for the Seattle Mariners. Iwakuma has been lights out this year and owns an astonishing 1.61 ERA over seven starts. His first win of the year came against the Oakland Athletics on April 2, which was the second game of the season. He allowed one earned run on two hits while striking out seven hitters over six strong innings in the game against the A’s. Iwakuma is 3-1 on the season and opponents are hitting just .168 against him.

After losing their past four games the A’s find themselves four games out of first place with a record is sitting at the .500 mark. The 18-18 Athletics will need their pitching staff to regain their 2012 form in order to catch up the to the first place Texas Rangers. The A’s relied heavily on their talented pitching staff to dethrone the Rangers as AL West champions last year and they will need the same combination of good pitching and power to do the same thing this year. The Athletics hope that this combination of pitching and power will present itself this weekend against the Mariners at Safeco Field.

DownSide: The Athletics are coming off a series in which they were swept four games (enough said).

UpSide: The A’s are back on the west coast and look to continue their success against AL West opponent.

FanSide: Lets go Oakland!

Probable Starters

Saturday, May 11, 6:10 PM PDT

Jarrod Parker (1-5, 7.34 ERA) vs. Brandon Maurer (2-4, 6.07 ERA)

Sunday, May 12, 1:10 PM PDT

Tommy Milone (3-4, 3.13 ERA) vs. Joe Saunders (2-4, 6.15 ERA)

September 29, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Dan Straily (67) delivers a pitch during the second inning against the Seattle Mariners at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

In the first game of the series, Dan Straily will look to get his second win of the season against the Los Angeles Angeles. He last pitched in the big leagues on April 5, when he struck out eleven and allowed two earned runs over six and two-thirds innings. Straily pitched extremely well while pitching for the Sacramento River Cats–he is 3-0 with a 0.96 ERA in three starts. Hopefully he can continue his domination over professional hitters when he takes on a powerful Angels line-up at 7:05 pm Monday.

The Angels will send Tommy Hanson to the mound to oppose Straily. Hanson is making his first start since being placed on the bereavement list. His last start was on April 19 against the Detroit Tigers when he threw six shutout innings. He is 2-1 with a 4.24 ERA over 17 innings pitched in three starts this season.

The Athletics swept the Angels in the teams first trip to Southern California. Oakland outscored the Angels 28-11 in those 3 games.

DownSide: The Athletics have not been playing the type of baseball they would like to be and have lost 8 of their last 10 games.

UpSide: Cespedes is back in the middle of the A’s line-up and the team is coming off of a morale-changing walk-off win.

FanSide: Lets go Oakland!

Probable Pitchers

Tuesday, April 30, 7:05 PM PDT

Garrett Richards (1-1, 3.65 ERA) vs. Jarrod Parker (0-4, 8.10 ERA)

Wednesday, May 1, 12:35 PM PDT

C.J. Wilson (2-0, 4.30 ERA) vs. Tommy Milone (3-2, 3.38 ERA)

April 04, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics starting pitcher A.J. Griffin (64) pitches the ball against the Seattle Mariners during the first inning at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The green and gold are making its one and only trip to Boston to take on the Sox. Boston has been doing very well this season as they find themselves in first place in the always competitive AL East.

In game one of the series, the A’s will send A.J. Griffin to hill hoping he can get the team its first win since Wednesday. Griffin has been a workhorse this season, pitching a team leading 20 innings in his first three starts of the season. He is 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA and  13 strikeouts.

On the mound for the Boston Red Sox will be the lefty, Felix Doubront. He is 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA and 13 strikeouts. Doubront has only pitched five innings in each of his two starts and has given up a whopping 13 hits.

Considering the pitching match-ups in game one of the series, it should be a perfect time for the A’s to get a win and get back on track. Griffin has been very consistent this season and the A’s need to put pressure on Doubront early. If the Athletics can get into the Red Sox bullpen early, it would not only mean the A’s offense is doing well, but it would also help them out for the rest of the series.

DownSide: The A’s pitching staff has given up 17 runs over the passed three games.

UpSide: A.J. Griffin has pitched tremendously this season and he is the perfect guy to have on the mound for game one of the three-game series.

FanSide: Lets go Oakland!

Probable Starters

Tuesday, April 23, 3:35 PM PDT

Bartolo Colon (2-0, 3.32 ERA) vs. Alfredo Aceves (1-0, 6.28 ERA)

Wednesday, April 24, 1:05 PM PDT

Brett Anderson (1-3, 5.95) vs. Jon Lester (3-0, 1.73 ERA)