Giants, A’s resume ‘I-80 Series’ rivalry games in SF. Storylines, matchups and more
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- A’s and Giants open a three-game series at Oracle Park starting Tuesday night.
- Zack Gelof has a 24-game hit streak, approaching the franchise’s expansion-era record.
- Shea Langeliers leads AL catchers with 19 homers, near end of All-Star Phase 2 voting.
The Athletics and San Francisco Giants will face off for the last time this season in a three-game series at Oracle Park beginning Tuesday night in San Francisco.
While both teams are below .500 — the A’s at 38-40 and Giants at 31-46 — the matchup, which was formerly called the Bay Bridge Series before the A’s temporarily moved to West Sacramento last season and turned it into the “Interstate 80 Series,” will still carry implications as the teams’ strategies ahead of the trade deadline continue to take shape.
The Giants took two out of three games during the teams’ last meeting, at Sutter Health Park in May, as the A’s look to even or win the season series with a strong showing this week.
The Giants lost four of their last six to the Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs, but won their most recent game Sunday, 5-1. The A’s didn’t win either of their home series last week; they split a four-game series with American League West rival Los Angeles Angels, but lost the final two games of the series Saturday and Sunday.
First pitch at Oracle Park is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, with a day game Thursday starting at 12:45 p.m.
Whether fans are watching at home, or making their way to San Francisco for the series, here is what to know.
Could Gelof make history?
The A’s most notable trend going into the three-game set is second baseman Zack Gelof’s hit streak of 24 games, which is the longest active streak in Major League Baseball. Gelof could tie and surpass the franchise’s record in the expansion era during the series.
Gelof would tie Jason Giambi’s 25-game streak with a hit during Tuesday’s game and could break that record Wednesday. He is currently tied with Miguel Tejada and Carney Lansford with his 24-game streak.
During that stretch Gelof, 26, is slashing .351/.402/.585 with 12 extra-base hits, making him one of the team’s most productive hitters. After getting sent down for parts of last season and struggling to start this season, Gelof has the third-most wins-above replacement on the A’s with 2.2, according to Baseball Reference, as he hopes to earn a consistent MLB role.
Civale seeks redemption Tuesday
Coming off a tough start in his return from the injured list last week, A’s veteran right-hander Aaron Civale will seek revenge when he leads his club against 2025 All-Star and former Cy Young winner Robbie Ray on Tuesday.
Civale gave up six runs off nine hits, four of which were doubles, in just three innings of work against the Pittsburgh Pirates last week, raising his ERA to 4.91. Though Civale has struggled in his last three starts dating back to before his IL stint, he showed a lot of promise to start the season, when he held a 2.70 ERA and 5-1 record through his first nine starts.
After the game, A’s manager Mark Kotsay said Civale missed in the middle of the zone too much, something he will aim to correct Tuesday.
On the other side, Ray is having a solid campaign, pitching to a 4.07 ERA in 79 2/3 innings across 15 appearances. Ray has 74 strikeouts this season, compared to 43 for Civale.
Jump takes the mound Wednesday
On Wednesday, fans are expected to see one of the A’s biggest young stars toe the rubber: Gage Jump.
Jump was called up from Triple-A in late May and has performed very well since a shaky, four-run MLB debut. The 23-year-old lefty has gone at least 6 1/3 innings with one or fewer earned runs surrendered in three of his last four starts.
The A’s lefty is known for his strikeout stuff, fanning at least five in four of his five starts. His best start yet came last week against the Angels, when he threw seven innings of one-hit, no-run ball with seven strikeouts to lower his season ERA to 2.37.
After dealing with injuries that shortened his strong 2025 campaign, Giants starter Tyler Mahle is starting an MLB game for the first time since late May after straining his left hamstring.
In a rehab start with the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats last week, Mahle gave up one run in 3 innings, so he may be on a limited pitch count against the A’s.
Mahle has given up at least four runs in six of his 11 big-league starts this season. He holds a 6.04 ERA in 56 2/3 innings.
Springs vs. Roupp will finish series
Jeffrey Springs is another A’s starter who has struggled as of late, as their battered rotation continues to go through turmoil with ace Luis Severino on the 60-day IL and a revolving door of young players looking to make their impact.
Springs, a 33-year-old lefty, is expected to start for the A’s in Thursday’s series finale against Giants right-hander Landen Roupp.
Springs started the season hot but has had a disastrous June so far in which he holds an 11.57 ERA through 16 1/3 innings across four starts, raising his season ERA to 5.55. Springs leads the AL in earned runs (51) and home runs (21) surrendered this season.
Roupp has also had a tough June, including an eight-run blow-up in his first start of the month, but holds a solid 4.15 ERA in 15 starts this season.
All-Star implications?
Though both teams have a plethora of young position player talent, including 21-year-old Giants slugger Bryce Eldridge, only A’s catcher Shea Langeliers is likely to advance to Phase 2 of the MLB All-Star voting.
Langeliers, who entered Tuesday leading all AL catchers with 19 home runs, 16 doubles and 79 hits while posting the second-best on-base plus slugging percentage among qualified catchers at .854, has a nearly 600,000 vote lead over the rest of the field with just days left to vote.
Besides Langeliers, A’s star first baseman Nick Kurtz and Giants contact-machine second baseman Luis Arraez are the other position players in the Top 5 of their respective positions, at fourth and fifth, respectively. If Arraez does not move into the top two second basemen, it is likely that the Giants will be completely locked out of Phase 2 of voting.
If either of them, or any other position players, hope to make a late push for the fan-elected spots, they will need to show off early in the series, with voting closing at 9 a.m. Pacific on Thursday.
However, the series still has implications for the All-Star game, especially for pitchers, who are selected after the fan vote by a combination of player voting and the Commissioner’s Office selections. Reserve position players are chosen the same way, with the Giants being guaranteed a representative in some form by the All-Star rules.
Any special events?
On Tuesday, Mexican Heritage Night will feature a pregame performance of traditional Zapateado dance by Ballet Folklórico Netzahualcóyotl and more musical performances throughout the game. Various prominent Mexican community members being integrated into the standard game day events, like the first pitch, national anthem and play ball announcement.
On Wednesday, Irish Heritage Night will also feature a live performance — a bagpipe show from the Healy School of Irish Dance. A Celtic Choir will perform the national anthem and an Irish-themed shirt will be sold at the game.
