Athletics at LA Angels - Apr 8^th 2018 4:07 PM ^ET Preview

The Oakland Athletics make another attempt at posting back-to-back wins for the first time this season when they visit the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday for the rubber match of their three-game set. Oakland rolled to a 7-3 victory Saturday after wasting a five-homer performance and squandering a late lead in the series opener.

Marcus Semien drove in a pair of runs while Jed Lowrie homered for the Athletics, who have recorded two of their four wins this season against the Angels. Matt Chapman is riding a nine-game hitting streak after delivering an RBI triple Saturday, but his string of five consecutive two-hit performances came to an end. Justin Upton has gone deep in three of his last four contests and is 5-for-9 with two home runs and five RBIs over the first two games of the series against the Athletics. Luis Valbuena also has feasted on Oakland pitching during the set, going 4-for-7 with a homer and three RBIs.

TV: 4:07 p.m. ET, NBCS California (Oakland), FS West (Los Angeles)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Athletics RH Kendall Graveman (0-1, 8.10 ERA) vs. Angels RH Shohei Ohtani (1-0, 4.50)

Graveman makes a third attempt to record his first win of the season as he hopes to last more than five innings for the first time. The 27-year-old native of Alabama allowed nine runs and 15 hits over his first two turns of 2018, including five and seven in five frames of a no-decision against the Angels on March 29. Graveman has made 12 career starts versus Los Angeles, going 2-2 with one complete game and a 4.33 ERA.

Ohtani will be making his second major-league start as a pitcher after producing a solid effort at Oakland in his debut. The 23-year-old Japanese two-way phenom notched the win April 1 after giving up three runs and three hits with a walk and six strikeouts over six innings. The only mistake in the outing by Ohtani, who has posted a .389 average with three homers and seven RBIs in four games as a hitter, was the three-run homer he served up to Chapman.

WALK-OFFS

1. Angels 1B/DH Albert Pujols is a .424 career hitter in 33 at-bats against Graveman with four home runs and 11 RBIs.

2. Chapman has gone 15-for-33 during his hitting streak.

3. Los Angeles recalled RHP Akeel Morris and INF Ryan Schimpf from Salt Lake while optioning RHP Parker Bridwell and INF Nolan Fontana to the Triple-A club.