Oakland's Tommy Milone has been near unbeatable at home this season, but that has been far from the case when he takes the mound on the road.
Luckily for the Athletics, Milone's start tonight is at the Coliseum, where his club continues a three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The left-handed Milone has made five previous starts as the hosting pitcher and is 4-1 with a 0.98 earned run average in that time while not allowing more than two earned runs in any of those starts.
It has been the exact opposite on the road, where Milone is 2-4 with a 7.42 ERA in eight outings.
Each of the 25-year-old's past three starts have come as the visiting pitcher and has helped contribute to a four-game winless streak (0-2). After giving up four runs in five outings of a no-decision at Arizona on June 8, Milone was hammered for a season-high eight runs over four frames in Colorado on Wednesday.
The USC product was charged with seven hits and four walks, matching a season worst by giving up three homers. That included a first-inning grand slam to put the A's behind early, though they rallied for a 10-8 win to leave Milone without a decision.
"I'm trying to compare the home starts and the road starts," he told Oakland's official website. "I think mainly just staying low and getting ahead. I feel like, when I'm on the road, I get behind a lot and am forced to throw the ball over the plate a lot."
Milone is 6-5 with a 4.48 ERA in 13 starts this year and faces the Dodgers for the first time.
Los Angeles hopes to give Oakland's starter some rare troubles at home and get their hurler, Nathan Eovaldi, his first win of the season.
Eovaldi hasn't allowed more than two earned runs in any of his four starts, leading to a 1.82 ERA, but is 0-2. Los Angeles has dropped all four of his outings by an 8-4 margin.
The 22-year-old righty held the Angels to a run over six innings on Wednesday, working around seven hits and two walks, but got a no-decision in the Dodgers' 2-1 loss.
Eovaldi went 1-2 with a 3.63 ERA over 10 games (6 starts) in his first big- league action last season and faces the A's for the first time.
The Dodgers will try to draw even in this series after losing last night's opener 3-0 and managing just two hits in the process.
Aaron Harang walked a career-high eight batters and threw 105 pitches before exiting after only 3 2/3 innings. He allowed three first-inning runs to take the loss.
"It is what it is," said Harang. "I can't dwell on it."
Andre Ethier and Tony Gwynn had the only hits for the Dodgers, who took two of three from the White Sox over the weekend and still lead the National League West by 4 1/2 games over the Giants.
Seth Smith brought home two runs for the A's with a single in the first and later scored on Jonny Gomes' base hit as his club won for the sixth time in seven games.
Brandon McCarthy threw seven innings of the combined shutout, allowing two hits and winning his sixth straight decision. He struck out five and walked one and talked afterward about his "simple strategy" for attacking hitters.
"I try to be in as much of an attack mentality as I can," said McCarthy. "I don't care if they put the ball in play on the first or second pitch. I try to make those pitches a little more quality than normal and try to move quickly."
These two clubs are meeting in Oakland for the first time since the A's recorded a three-game sweep from June 16-18, 2006. Oakland holds a 10-2 edge in the series at home in interleague play.
The Dodgers did win two of three in Los Angeles in the most recent encounter during the 2009 season.
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