A's Face Suarez, Rooker Threat in Game 2

0:00On March 31st, the Atlanta Braves just locked in Jose Suarez as their starter for Tuesday nights game 2 against the Oakland Athletics. As a lefty, he's a smart pick to mess with the A's top left-handed hitters, especially after they sat most of them Sunday against Toronto's South Paul. The A's pulled Nick Kurtz, Tyler Sotashrum, and Lawrence Butler from the lineup recently, and Jeff McNeill might sit again Tuesday, maybe sliding in. Here in Andy Ibanez at 2nd, to spark things against lefties. Brent Rucker stands out as the real threat here. He's faced Suarez five times before, and gone 4 for 5, crushing 3 solo home runs. The A's game plan boils down to getting guys on base ahead of him so he can launch. Team wide though, the A's have struggled against Suarez, hitting just 2 for 13 outside Rucker. Hits came from Lawrence Butler and Ibanez, who even homered once, while others like Shay Langeleers and Sotashrum are zero for their few looks.

1:00With Suarez fresh as the 5th starter, no one knows how long he'll go, so Rucker's chances depend on that. The A's offense needs this boost bad. Could be fireworks if they load the bases early. I'm Corey with the story, and you've been listening to MLB News today, AI-powered baseball coverage.