Why Athletics Hitters Could Catch Fire Against Cubs' Jameson Tallion

On Tuesday, the A's will be facing off against the 32-28 Chicago Cubs. Southpaw Gage Jump will be making his second career start. He'll be facing veteran Jameson Tallion, and several A's players have some really strong career numbers against him.

Over the last week or so, the A's have had their share of tough starters to face. The Mariners have a strong group of starters, but they faced the Yankees, who had a couple of tricky southpaws.

Luckily for the A's, this series might be a perfect time for some of the colder bats to catch some fire.

May 4, 2023; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jameson Tallion (50) pitches against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

These Guys Have Tallion's Number

Four current A's players have really solid career numbers against Jameson Tallion, and should have an impact on Tuesday's contest in Chicago.

First off is Jonah Heim. Unfortunately, he will likely not be in the team's lineup, as he serves as their backup catcher. In his career against Tallion, he is 3-for-6 with two RBI's, which is good for a .500 AVG and a 1.167 OPS.

May 19, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Athletics catcher Jonah Heim (15) is greeted in the dugout after scoring on a single by first baseman Nick Kurtz (16) in the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The A's starting catcher, Shea Langeliers, also has some good experience against the right-hander. He's 2-for-6 against him, but with a home run. That gives him a .333 batting average and a 1.166 OPS.

Facing Tallion should be especially helpful for Langeliers, as he's been struggling lately. He holds a brutal .148 batting average in his last seven games. In that time, he's 4-for-27, and of those four hits, two of them were home runs. Despite his struggles, his season numbers should still put him in a good position for an All-Star nod.

Shea Langeliers leads all catchers in:

Hits (63)
HR (14)
SLG (.549)
fWAR (2.4)

Bangeliers blasts this one OFF THE BATTERS EYE 💣 pic.twitter.com/qASzvxz8ve
— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) May 31, 2026

A's second baseman Jeff McNeil also has a homer against Tallion. In his eleven at-bats against him, he's batting .273 with an .818 OPS.

All-Star designated hitter Brent Rooker has just three at-bats against him and has also collected a long ball.

This Series Should Heat Up the Cold Bats

May 16, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics designated hitter Brent Rooker (25) watches the flight of his home run against the San Francisco Giants during the eighth inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The A's cold bats are a huge factor in why they have now lost three series in a row. For a team that relies on its offense to make up for an average pitching staff, it's a big problem when the offense goes cold.

Usual contributors like Shea Langeliers and Brent Rooker are especially cold at the plate. Langeliers' struggles were already mentioned, but Rooker has been even worse.

In Rooker's last seven games, he's 3-for-26 with an awful 12 strikeouts in that period. During that time, his batting average was .115 with a .207 OBP.

Brent Rooker talks about the A's allowing a 13-run inning to the Yankees en route to Sunday's 13-8 loss, the frustrating homestand and trying to turn his fortunes around at the plate. pic.twitter.com/OOSSZyEvb8
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) June 1, 2026

Fortunately for those two, they will have a few super-easy matchups in Chicago. In Game 2 of the series, the team will face Colin Rea. In his last seven starts, he holds a brutal ERA of 5.86.

To wrap up the series on Thursday, the A's will face left-hander Shota Imanaga, whom they have also had much success against.

It's also worth noting that Brent Rooker has homered off all three of those pitchers and has less than six at-bats against each of them.

This series against the Cubs will be huge for #Athletics cold slugger Brent Rooker. He holds a .115 batting average in his last 7 games.

Career stats against all three Cubs starters:

vs Jameson Tallion: 1-3 with a HR and 2 RBI’s

vs Colin Rea: 3-5 with a HR and 2 RBI’s

vs…
— Dylan Quinn (@dylanq_2) June 2, 2026

If there ever was a good series for the A's to get their bats back to where they were a few weeks ago, it's now. Following the Rangers' win on Monday evening, the A's have fallen back to third place. However, they're just 2.5 games back, so one hot streak and they will be back in the mix for first place.

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