Braves vs A’s schedule and probable pitchers

The Atlanta Braves suffered their first series loss in five tries on Thursday with a 6-0 loss to the Padres. Atlanta took Game 1 of the series but then proceeded to drop the next two.

The biggest news to come out of the San Diego series was the return and subsequent departure of Bartolo Colon who came off the disabled list on Wednesday but struggled again in his return to the mound. Colon was designated for assignment on Thursday ending his brief tenure with the Braves.

Atlanta will wrap up their six-game road trip with an interleague matchup that gets started Friday in Oakland.

Friday, June 30, 10:05 p.m. ET (MLB Network, Fox Sports South)

Mike Foltynewicz (5-5, 4.10 ERA, 4.70 FIP, 7.75 K/9, 2.96 BB/9)

Foltynewicz will look to cap off a good June on Friday when he takes the mound in the Braves series opener in Oakland. He has allowed two runs or less in four of his five starts this month. He struggled a bit with his command in his last outing but was still effective holding Milwaukee to four hits and one run over five innings.

Sonny Gray (3-3, 4.45 ERA, 3.60 FIP, 9.05 K/9, 3.06 BB/0)

He will be opposed by A’s right hander Sonny Gray who is healthy and once again the focus of trade rumors in advance of the deadline. Gray was solid last time out allowing four hits and one earned run over seven innings in a win over the White Sox.

Saturday, July 1, 4:05 p.m. ET (Fox Sports South)

R.A. Dickey (6-5, 4.63 ERA, 5.42 FIP, 5.72 K/9, 3.55 BB/9)

Since allowing eight earned runs against Washington three starts ago, R.A. Dickey has pitched well allowing just eight hits and one run in his last two starts combined. He fired seven shutout innings against the Giants on June 19 and followed that up by allowing five hits and one run over seven innings against Milwaukee on the 24th. A lot of Dickey’s success can be traced back to improved control. After walking 20 batters in May, he has issued just seven in June with five of those coming in one start.

Jharel Cotton (5-7, 5.02 ERA, 5.15 FIP, 7.79 K/9, 3.77 BB/9)

The A’s will counter with right hander Jharel Cotton on Saturday. Cotton has had an up and down season but was rolling through one of his best starts last time out before he was forced to leave early due to a blister. He allowed just three hits over five shutout innings against the White Sox last time out before leaving the game after just 66 pitches.

Sunday, July 2, 4:05 p.m. ET (Fox Sports South)

Julio Teheran (6-6, 5.30 ERA, 5.77 FIP, 6.20 K/9, 3.40 BB/9)

Teheran’s struggles continued in his last start when he allowed seven runs in just three innings in a loss to the Brewers. Teheran has now allowed at least six earned runs in five of his past 13 starts. A lot of his struggles can be traced to his performance at home where he has posted a 7.58 ERA in nine starts. He has been much better on the road going 5-0 with a 2.89 ERA in seven starts. Teheran has already allowed 19 home runs this season after giving up 22 all of last season.

Sean Manaea (7-4, 3.87 ERA, 3.53 FIP, 9.57 K/9, 3.53 BB/9)

Manaea has been one of Oakland’s most productive pitchers over the first part of the season and will close things out for the A’s on Sunday. He battled his way to a win in his last start allowing nine hits but just one run over 5 ²⁄₃ innings against the Astros. He has allowed three runs or less in four of his five starts in June and has posted a 3.82 ERA for the month.