Athletics Will Open Their 60-Game 2020 Season Against Angels at the Coliseum
The Oakland A’s will start the 2020 season on Friday, July 24 in the Oakland Coliseum against the Angels in the first for a four-game set that carries over to Monday, July 27.
If everything goes as scheduled in this time of COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the A’s will end the season, also at home, on Sept. 27, bringing a three-game series against the Mariners to an end.
In total, the A’s will play 60 games, including 10 games against each of the teams of the American League West: The Angels, the Astros, the Mariners and the Rangers. The A’s will have seven of their 10 games against the Astros and the Angels at home and seven of their 10 games against the Mariners and Rangers on the road.
Also on the schedule are games against the Diamondbacks, the Giants, the Padres, and the Rockies, home and home. Oakland has a road series against the Dodgers, but the Dodgers will not be visiting the Coliseum. And while the Padres will visit, the A’s won’t be playing in San Diego.
There will, of course, be no fans at these games, at least to start the season and very likely none for the entire 60-game set.
Here are some of the other items to be gleaned from a close look at the schedule”
--After the opener, most of the home night games will be at either 6:10 or 6:40. Day games will go at 12:40 p.m. (weekdays) or 1:10 p.m. (weekends except for a 12:40 start in the season finale at home).
--Astros fans have been gearing up to razz A’s starter Mike Fiers, who was the whistleblower on the Houston sign-stealing scheme that led to general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch to lose their jobs, although the Astros were able to keep their World Series rings. They only have a 60 percent chance, at best to see Fiers on the mound, because the A’s have just one three-game series in Houston, Aug. 28-30. If Oakland goes go with a five-man rotation, Fiers has only a three-in-five chance to pitch there. It goes to 50-50 if the A’s sport a six-man rotation, something that is considered a longshot.
--Even if everything else seems wacky, the Bay Bridge Series is back. The Giants host the A’s for three games the weekend of Aug. 14-16, and the A’s will be at home for a Sept. 18-20 series between to two Bay Area rivals.
--Every year – well, every normal year – the Mariners and the A’s trade off being the team with the most air miles flown. Not so this year, with West teams playing only West teams. The Rangers will lead the pack with 14,706 miles, the Astros will be second at 13,954, the Mariners are third at 11,813 and the A’s are fourth at 11,363. West teams still spend much more time in the air, with West teams taking 10 of the 13 highest-mileage slots this year.
--Although they end the season at home against the Mariners, as stated before, September could be difficult if the A’s are in the middle of a pennant race, as they would expect to be if they ever can get around testing and start working out. Eight of Oakland’s final 14 games are on the road, including three in Texas against the Rangers and two in Denver against the Rockies.
--Earlier, things are a bit better. The A’s open with 18 of their first 29 games are at the Coliseum, and three of the other 11 are just over the bay in San Francisco
Follow Athletics insider John Hickey on Twitter: @JHickey3
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