A’s vs. Diamondbacks game thread

The Oakland Athletics ended yesterday’s contest against the Chicago White Sox in a 3-3 tie yesterday after a clutch 9th inning homer from young first baseman Will Simpson. Today, they’ll look to finish the job and get a win today against the reigning NL champions, the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Starting for the A’s is Ross Stripling, who’s had a rough run in Spring Training. He comes into this outing with 10 ¹⁄₃ innings of 11.32 ball, allowing 20 hits along the way. His strikeout-to-walk ratio still looks strong but his .429 BABIP is way higher than typical, so the trouble is at least partly luck-induced. He’ll face off against the Dbacks’ Merrill Kelly, who’s sporting a 3.60 ERA in two short starts this preseason.

Making his return from a back injury and batting leadoff for the A’s is Nick Allen, who’s hoping to get back into game shape in time to be the team’s Opening Day shortstop. J.D. Davis is also back in the lineup, this time DH’ing and batting second. Other notables include Kyle McCann fighting for the backup catcher role, Logan Davidson trying to make an impression, and Hoy Park playing second base in hopes of proving he’s fit for the utility role.

And here’s the graphic-less Diamondbacks lineup:

The game is scheduled to start at 1:10 p.m. PT. See y’all here!