After watching one of their top prospects, Joe Boyle, pitch impressively last weekend, the Oakland Athletics will try again when right-hander Joey Estes makes his major league debut Wednesday afternoon in the series finale against the visiting Seattle Mariners.
The 21-year-old will have an opportunity to prevent the Mariners (83-68) from moving into first place in the American League West.
Seattle begins the day tied for second place with the Texas Rangers (83-68), a half-game behind the Houston Astros (84-68). For the third straight day, the Mariners will get a chance to scoreboard-watch the earlier starts for the Rangers at home against the Boston Red Sox, and the Astros at home against the Baltimore Orioles.
Acquired from the Atlanta Braves in the Matt Olson trade before the 2022 season, Estes has pitched in both Double-A and Triple-A in the Oakland organization this year. He posted a 5.23 ERA in seven appearances, including six starts, for Triple-A Las Vegas.
Boyle, who had been Estes’ teammate in Las Vegas, threw three shutout innings in a no-decision against the visiting San Diego Padres on Sunday.
Estes will have to hope for more run support than what the A’s (46-105) have given Boyle, JP Sears and Paul Blackburn in their past three games. After taking a 10-1 loss in Boyle’s debut on Sunday, Oakland has mustered just two runs — both on Tuesday — in back-to-back, one-sided losses to the Mariners.
For the second straight night, one of Oakland’s top hitting prospects added to an impressive season when catcher Shea Langeliers lashed his fourth triple of the season on Tuesday.
Langeliers not only leads the A’s in triples, but only 30 major-leaguers have more than four, including just one catcher — the Philadelphia Phillies’ J.T. Realmuto with five.
“Shea is pretty quick for a catcher. He is athletic,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said of another of the prospects pried from the Braves in the Olson deal. “It’s pretty impressive for a catcher to lead our team in triples.”
Seeking to continue the home team’s scoring issues will be Seattle right-hander George Kirby (10-10, 3.57 ERA), who has been in a slump of his own. The Mariners are winless in his past four starts, a stretch in which he’s gone 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA.
The good news for Kirby is that he hasn’t lost to the A’s in his two-year career, going 2-0 with a 4.28 ERA in five starts. He pitched a 5-3 win at Oakland on May 4, allowing three runs in seven innings.
The Mariners have out-hit the A’s 20-11 in the series despite getting only one hit from their hottest hitter, Julio Rodriguez, as the slugger tackles the spacious Oakland Coliseum.
Rodriguez had entered the series 16-for-44 (.364) in Oakland before going 1-for-8 the last two nights in a park he believes suits his use-the-entire-ballpark style well.
“I’m not just gonna be a pull hitter,” Rodriguez said. “I feel like I’m able to do damage throughout every field. And with pitchers, I can give them something more to deal with.”
The Mariners will try to send the A’s to their seventh straight loss.
–Field Level Media