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Athletics-Orioles Preview

May 26, 2010 - 3:43 AM By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA STATS Senior Writer

Oakland (23-22) at Baltimore (14-31), 7:05 p.m. EDT

With their lineup struggling, the Oakland Athletics seem to have little chance at winning these days without an extraordinary pitching performance.

Locked in a home run drought and with Coco Crisp likely headed back to the disabled list, the Athletics might not be able to afford another ineffective game from their pitchers as they face the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night.

After sweeping a three-game set with San Francisco over the weekend, Oakland (23-23) lost 5-1 to Baltimore (15-31) on Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game series. The Athletics were held without a homer for the seventh straight game, the club's longest such streak since a nine-game rut in 1983.

Oakland has been limited to three runs or fewer in five of its last six contests and 10 of 13.

To make matters worse, the A's have had to scratch Crisp the past two games due to a strained chest muscle. The center fielder was out from April 3-May 21 due to a broken left finger.

"I'm pretty sure I'm on the DL," Crisp said. "It's a bad stroke of luck here."

Outstanding pitching helped the A's outscore the Giants 10-1. Their string of consecutive shutout innings ended at 23 when Baltimore scored an unearned run in the fourth, and Oakland ended up allowing six walks - its most in 11 games.

With Trevor Cahill (2-2, 3.68 ERA) on the mound, the A's hope to get back on track against the major league-worst Orioles. Cahill is 2-1 with a 2.22 ERA in his last four starts.

The right-hander allowed one run in 6 2-3 innings and earned a win in a 6-1 victory over San Francisco on Friday night.

Cahill is 1-1 with a 3.46 ERA in two career starts against Baltimore.

The Orioles will counter with Brian Matusz (2-4, 5.26), coming off his worst start of the season. He yielded seven runs and eight hits in 2 1-3 innings of a 13-7 loss to Texas on Thursday night. The 23-year-old left-hander threw seven shutout innings against Cleveland in his previous effort.

"He's not Warren Spahn, he's not Sandy Koufax," manager Dave Trembley said. "He's a young guy that's learning."

Matusz won his only start against Oakland, allowing three runs and striking out eight in 6 1-3 innings in an 8-3 victory April 18.

Even if Matusz can take a lead into the late innings, the Orioles may be in trouble. They placed relievers Koji Uehara and Alfredo Simon on the 15-day DL on Tuesday, leaving the bullpen without a clear closer.

Simon, who had six saves and a 2.92 ERA in 12 games, strained his left hamstring in the 10th inning of Sunday's 4-3 loss to Washington.

This could be an excellent opportunity for the A's hitters to break out.

Oakland third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff is tied with Ryan Sweeney for the team lead in RBIs with 21, but he has three in his last 13 games. Sweeney has one RBI in 15 road games.

Baltimore was missing designated hitter Luke Scott on Tuesday but got enough production at the plate to avoid a third straight loss. Scott, who has nine home runs and 20 RBIs, was scratched due to a strained shoulder.

If Scott sits out, Garrett Atkins could be the DH for the second straight contest. Atkins, batting .222, snapped an 0-for-18 skid with a seventh-inning single.