Read More: twins baseball, minnesota twins baseball, athletics baseball, oakland athletics baseball, twins at athletics, twins vs athletics, twins athletics preview, Brandon McCarthy (P – OAK), Carl Pavano (P – MIN), Nick Blackburn (P – MIN), Oakland Athletics, Minnesota Twins, Minnesota Twins at Oakland Athletics, Jul 31, 2011 3:05 PM CDT

It seems appropriate as of late that the Oakland Athletics play their home games at the Overstock.com Coliseum. . .because, lately, they really have been all about the “O.”

The Athletics, as a team, are hitting .315 since the All-Star break, and have collected at least eight hits in every game in that stretch. That includes the twelve they racked up on Saturday night in the process of thumping Nick Blackburn and the Minnesota Twins by a final score of 8-3.

In an attempt to win this three-game series, the Twins will send right-hander Carl Pavano (6-7, 4.60 ERA) to the mound. Pavano was blistered in his last start on Tuesday, allowing eight runs on nine hits in just five innings of work against the Texas Rangers, but wound up with a no-decision as the Twins’ furious comeback got them a 9-8 victory. He has faced the Athletics twice this season, and has been pretty successful. On April 8, Pavano worked eight solid innings, allowing just one run on four hits at Target Field in Minnesota’s 2-1 win. On May 18 at the Overstock.com Coliseum, Pavano allowed three runs (one earned) on six hits in seven innings, but got a no-decision in a 4-3 Minnesota victory.

He will be opposed by Oakland right-hander Brandon McCarthy (3-5, 3.52 ERA). McCarthy has only made 14 starts this season, having gone on the disabled list on May 20 with a shoulder injury and not returning until July 4. In his last start, he was great against the Tampa Bay Rays, giving up just one run on six hits in eight innings in Oakland’s 6-1 victory. He has started twice against the Twins this season, and has also fared relatively well. On April 10 at Target Field, he pitched 7.1 solid innings, giving up two runs on nine hits in a 5-3 Athletics win. He also started opposite Pavano in the May 18 match-up mentioned earlier, and also got a no-decision, allowing three runs on nine hits in seven innings.

First pitch from Oakland is scheduled for 3:00 PM Central time. Be sure to keep an eye on Twinkie Town for the party that is the Game Thread, and we’ll be here for the recap when the game is finished.

The Oakland Athletics wrap up the first half of their season with a four-game series at the Texas Rangers looking to head into the All Star Break with some level of momentum. We’ll be here with news updates, previews and recaps. For more on the A’s, check out Athletics Nation.

Read More: Andy LaRoche (3B – OAK), Josh Willingham (LF – OAK), Conor Jackson (LF – OAK), Hideki Matsui (DH – OAK), Daric Barton (1B – OAK), Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees

The Oakland Athletics are set for their second meeting with the New York Yankees this evening, with a few slight changes in tonight’s lineup. Andy LaRoche will be back at shortstop tonight, batting ninth, while Josh Willingham will be back in the DH spot giving Hideki Matsui the night off. Conor Jackson will be at first base to give Daric Barton a night off, batting third.

Your Oakland Athletics:

1. Coco Crisp CF
2. David DeJesus RF
3. Conor Jackson 1B
4. Josh Willingham DH
5. Ryan Sweeney LF
6. Kurt Suzuki C
7. Mark Ellis 2B
8. Kevin Kouzmanoff 3B
9. Andy LaRoche SS

New York Yankees Lineup:

1. Derek Jeter SS
2. Curtis Granderson CF
3. Mark Teixeira 1B
4. Alex Rodriguez 3B
5. Robinson Cano 2B
6. Russell Martin C
7. Nick Swisher RF
8. Andruw Jones DH
9. Brett Gardner LF

First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. PT this evening with coverage on CSN California and Sports Radio 95.7 FM.

For more discussion and analysis of the Oakland A’s, head on over to Athletics Nation to get in on the action.

Read More: Ryan Sweeney (RF – OAK), Guillermo Moscoso (P – OAK), Hideki Matsui (DH – OAK), Oakland Athletics

The Oakland Athletics send out Guillermo Moscoso to face Zach Britton and the Baltimore Orioles Sunday afternoon at 1:05pm pacific. The A’s will be looking to secure their first series sweep of the season and climb back to the .500 mark for the first time since May 19. The A’s have won four of their last five games and the AL West is bunching up fairly tightly. Oakland remains in last place but is only 1 1/2 games out of first.

The A’s continue their pattern of sitting Hideki Matsui and Ryan Sweeney against left-handed pitchers. I had raised a question about playing Sweeney more often and somebody at Athletics Nation followed up with a similar question. However, as the comments show in the AN FanPost, Sweeney has found the most success against right-handed pitchers. If that’s what it takes to keep Sweeney in the lineup, so be it.

Oakland Athletics
1. Coco Crisp CF
2. Daric Barton 1B
3. Conor Jackson LF
4. Josh Willingham DH
5. Kurt Suzuki C
6. David DeJesus RF
7. Mark Ellis 2B
8. Kevin Kouzmanoff 3B
9. Cliff Pennington SS