Athletics @ Giants

Who will WIN this matchup?

Oakland Athletics (9-9)

@ San Francisco Giants (13-5)

Starting Pitchers:

Blackburn (OAK): 2-0; 1.80 ERA

Long (SF) 0-0; 0.00 ERA

Current odds:

Oakland Athletics: (+150)

San Francisco Giants: (-170)

• The San Francisco Giants will look to further close the gap in their all-time rivalry with the visiting Oakland Athletics when they seek a second straight win Wednesday night in the finale of a two-game interleague series between the San Francisco Bay Area neighbors. Starting with their four-game sweep in the 1989 World Series, the A’s held a 73-61 upper hand over the Giants until the West Bay team took four of six last season. San Francisco took an additional cut out of the deficit with an 8-2 victory in the series opener Tuesday, giving the Giants three consecutive victories dating back to a pair last August that clinched the annual Bay Bridge Series.

• Left-hander Sam Long (0-0, 0.00 ERA), who worked the first inning as the first of eight regular relievers who combined on a five-hitter in Monday’s 4-2 win at Milwaukee, is expected to take the mound first. The A’s fared no better against the San Francisco bullpen than they did against Rodon in the series opener. After the veteran left-hander had allowed one run and three hits in six innings, striking out nine, relievers Dominic Leone, Jarlin Garcia, Yunior Marte and Kervin Castro gave Oakland just one more run and two more hits over the final three innings, striking out six.

• The A’s are expected to counter with right-hander Paul Blackburn (2-0, 1.80), who has been an early-season surprise. A native of the Oakland suburb of Antioch, Blackburn has pitched Oakland to three straight wins, going five innings in each and never allowing more than two runs. He limited Baltimore to one run and three hits in a 6-4 win in his most recent outing last Thursday. Blackburn has made one previous start against the Giants, that coming in July 2017 in Oakland. He was the winning pitcher that day in an 8-5 victory despite serving up five runs and eight hits in 6 1/3 innings.

• That Giants lineup did not feature either Wilmer Flores or Austin Slater, the two big hitters in Tuesday’s win. Each smacked three-run homers, with Flores adding a run-scoring double to complete a four-RBI night. Slater, who often doesn’t start against righties, expects to be called upon at some point of the series finale. He entered Tuesday’s game as a pinch hitter, before staying in the contest and eventually belting his homer.