At Oakland Coliseum

Day ... ... ... Time ... ... ... TV ... ... Starters

Today .. .. ... 4:05 ... ... ... HTS .. ... Ben McDonald (11-6, 4.26) vs.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Ron Darling (9-9, 4.36)

Tomorrow night ... 10:05 ... ... ... 54, 50 ... Mike Mussina (13-4, 2.94) vs.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... undecided

Saturday .. ... ... 4:05 ... ... .. 54, 50 ... Sid Fernandez (6-4, 4.79) vs.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. Todd Van Poppel (5-9, 6.51)

Sunday ... ... ... 4:05 ... ... ... 54, 20 ... Jamie Moyer (4-6, 4.98) vs.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. Bobby Witt (8-8, 4.61)

Radio: All games on WBAL (1090 AM) and WTOP (1500 AM)

Athletics update

The Athletics are 41-53 and are just 3-7 after winning 10 of their previous 22 games. Even with that slide, Oakland is tied for second place in the American League West. On Tuesday, the A's broke the Yankees' five-game winning streak with a 6-2 victory behind a 425-foot, three-run homer by Mark McGwire. The A's own the worst home record (17-28) in the American League. Oakland's starting rotation has allowed four runs in its last 33 1/3 innings for a 1.08 ERA. The bullpen, however, has faltered. A's relievers are 0-2, allowing 12 earned runs in their past 20 2/3 innings (5.22 ERA). The A's offense also has not supported the starting pitching. Oakland is batting .205 (36-for-176) in its past six games, scoring an average of 3.7 runs. Geronimo Berroa, who leads the club in batting average (.314) and is second in home runs (12) and RBIs (56), has been Oakland's most consistent offensive threat.