A’s Split Squad game thread

Only one more Cactus League game to go after today

Happy Friday A’s Nation! With the A’s set to break out of camp and fly back to Oakland after tomorrow's last Spring Training game, a split squad today awaits them against the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox.

In Mesa, A’s Opening Day starter Alex Wood will get the rock to make his fourth and final appearance of the Cactus League. This spring hasn’t been the kindest to Wood; he’s surrendered 12 hits over 11.1 innings and six earned runs. A strong start on Friday, however, could turn the tides for Wood and create some momentum heading into Thursday hopefully.

Here’s the lineup behind Wood:

Here’s how the Reds will stack up:

Then in Phoenix, the other half of the A’s split-squad will take on the White Sox. The A’s will use a lineup there consisting of players many would assume will start the year as a backup or even in the minors as opposed to their team in Mesa today which looks more like an Opening Day lineup.

Joe Boyle gets the start against Chicago to mark his sixth appearance of Spring where he’s fared much better than Wood. Boyle comes into Friday's game with a 2.93 ERA across five starts and 15 strikeouts over 15.1 innings of work. He’s struggled with command as of late, but the 24-year-old former fifth-round pick has made an interesting case for himself to pitch in a significant role for the A’s in 2024.

Here’s the lineup behind Boyle today:

Then the lineup for the White Sox:

A 2-0 day sounds pretty good to me, how about you all?

Game Info

Game date/time: Friday, March 22, 1:05 p.m. PDT for both

Location: Hohokam Stadium, Mesa, AZ vs. the Reds

Camelback Ranch, Phoenix, AZ vs. the White Sox

TV: None

Streaming: None

Radio: A’s cast, Bloomberg 960 AM/103.7 HD2