• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Athletics-Giants Preview

Jun 11, 2010 - 1:59 AM By JEFF MEZYDLO STATS Senior Writer

Oakland (31-30) at San Francisco (32-26), 10:15 p.m. EDT

Oakland didn't have to face San Francisco ace Tim Lincecum during a sweep of its Bay Area rival last month. The Athletics won't be so fortunate this time.

The two-time reigning NL Cy Young Award winner looks to continue his dominance of the A's and help the Giants start avenging that disappointing series Friday night in the opener of their interleague set at AT&T Park.

Oakland (32-30) outscored San Francisco 10-1 while winning all three games May 21-23. The A's, 42-35 in the Bay Area series, have swept four of the last 10 series between the teams. However, trying to do it in San Francisco for the second time in three years might not be easy with Lincecum (5-2, 3.20 ERA) on the mound.

The right-hander is 3-0 with a 1.23 ERA in four starts against Oakland. He tossed a three-hitter in a 3-0 win over the A's on June 12, helping the Giants sweep last season's series at AT&T Park.

Lincecum, however, is 0-2 with a 6.85 ERA in his last four starts since going 5-0 with a 1.76 ERA in his first eight. He felt better after allowing three runs in seven innings of a 6-5, 10-inning win at Pittsburgh on Sunday.

"I've been kind of erratic with my mechanics and my timing and my motion, and this was a big step forward," said Lincecum, who walked two after giving up five walks in each of his previous four starts. "I'll take what I get."

After batting .151 and striking out 21 times at Oakland last month, the Giants (32-27) have hit .290 and gone 10-6 since that series.

"They're going to have to face a different team when it comes to confidence," reliever Jeremy Affeldt told the Giants' official website.

However, San Francisco looks to avoid a third consecutive loss after falling 7-6 at Cincinnati on Thursday to conclude a 4-3 road trip. Aubrey Huff and Aaron Rowand each homered, but the Giants stranded 13 runners and grounded into three double plays with the bases loaded.

"You can't have tougher luck than we had," manager Bruce Bochy said.

Though Huff has hit .404 with four homers and eight RBIs in his last 14 games, he's batting .155 in his last 17 against Oakland. He went 0 for 2 with a walk against scheduled starter Gio Gonzalez (6-3, 3.58) when the left-hander allowed two hits in eight innings of a 1-0 win over the Giants on May 22.

"The entire performance was impressive," A's manager Bob Geren said of Gonzalez, who is 1-1 with a 3.09 ERA against San Francisco.

Gonzalez, 3-0 with a 2.97 ERA in his last five starts, beat Minnesota on Sunday as he allowed two runs in seven innings of a 5-4 win.

Looking to improve upon their 19-18 record at San Francisco, the A's try to build on a 6-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday.

Kurt Suzuki and Kevin Kouzmanoff each had two hits with an RBI as Oakland concluded a 3-4 homestand by splitting a four-game set with its AL West rival.

Batting .405 during an 11-game hitting streak, Kouzmanoff is 10 for 29 in his last seven games against San Francisco.

Suzuki, 6 for 13 in his last three games, will miss this series because of a death in the family.

The A's could have starting center fielder Rajai Davis back after he missed three games with a hamstring injury.