Orioles@Oakland Athletics
Day ........... Time ....... TV ................ Starters
Tonight ...... 10:05 ..... Ch. 54 ......... Erik Bedard (12-9, 3.92)
........................................ vs. Joe Blanton (14-10, 4.45)
Tomorrow ..... 4:05 ...... Ch. 54 ........... Adam Loewen (4-4, 5.56)
.......................................... vs. Dan Haren (12-10, 3.80)
Sunday ........ 4:05 ..... Ch. 54 ........... Hayden Penn (0-0, 0.00)
...................................... vs. Esteban Loaiza (8-7, 4.82)
Radio: All games on WBAL (1090 AM)
Athletics update
A strong second-half surge has the A's running away with the American League West. A three-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox put Oakland 7 1/2 games ahead of the Los Angeles Angels, the first time in nearly 14 years that the A's have led their division by more than seven games. Oakland was 21-6 in August, winning nine of its last 11, despite its lightly regarded offense. The A's have the second-worst team batting average (.255) in the AL and have scored the fourth-fewest runs. Comeback Player of the Year candidate Frank Thomas has 28 homers and 79 RBIs. The Athletics' pitching staff has a 4.02 ERA, second only to the Detroit Tigers in the AL. Esteban Loaiza was 4-0 with a 1.70 ERA in August.