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Red-hot A's go for sweep of Orioles

May 7, 2008 - 12:03 PM Baltimore (16-17) at Oakland (21-14) 3:35 pm EDT

OAKLAND, California (Ticker) - The Oakland Athletics are one of the surprises of the American League so far this season. They will go for a sweep Wednesday when they host the Baltimore Orioles in the finale of a three-game series.

Oakland spent the offseason rebuilding after finishing a disappointing 76-86 in 2007. General manager Billy Beane traded away the A's top pitcher - Dan Haren - and most productive hitter - Nick Swisher - in separate deals, changing the face of the organization.

This season's squad features a pitching staff that leads the majors with a 3.12 ERA and a young offense steadily finding its groove.

Every starter in the rotation has an ERA under 4.00, and relievers Santiago Casilla, Andrew Brown and Joey Devine have combined to allow just two runs over 46 2/3 frames.

The Orioles have cooled off after a hot start, dropping six of their last seven games to fall under .500. They dropped the first two games of the series in a pair of close finishes, 2-1 on Monday and 4-2 on Tuesday.

Offense has been the biggest weakness, with Baltimore averaging 2.3 runs per game over the last seven contests.

Jeremy Guthrie (1-3, 4.06 ERA) will get the call for the Orioles in the series finale. The righthander picked up his first win of the season last Friday, allowing two runs and three hits in seven frames at the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Oakland will counter with Joe Blanton (2-5, 3.88). The hefty righthander was let down by his defense against the Rangers on Friday, yielding four runs - two earned - and seven hits in seven frames