Orioles and Athletics lineups

By Roch Kubatko

Orioles

July 18, 2014, 2:30pm

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The Orioles open the second half of their season tonight with a familiar lineup. Once again, Steve Pearce is in left field and Nelson Cruz is the designated hitter. Caleb Joseph is behind the plate for starter Chris Tillman, and Jonathan Schoop is at second base. For the Orioles Nick Markakis RF Steve Pearce LF Adam Jones CF Nelson Cruz DH Chris Davis 1B J.J. Hardy SS Manny Machado 3B Caleb Joseph C Jonathan Schoop 2B Chris Tillman RHP For the Athletics Coco Crisp CF John Jaso DH Yoenis Cespedes LF Brandon Moss RF Josh Donaldson 3B Stephen Vogt 1B Jed Lowrie SS Derek Norris C Andy Parrino 2B Jeff Samardzija RHP Samardzija ranks 14th in the majors in ERA at 2.78, but he also has the fifth-lowest run support at 3.07 per game. Cespedes is in an 0-for-19 slump, the longest hitless streak of his career. He also has a career-high 16 game streak without an extra-base hit. The A's are 59-36, the best record in the majors and the fourth-best record after 95 games in franchise history. They had the best record in the majors at the All-Star break for the second time in Athletics history (1988). The A's have won six straight at home, 11 of 12 and 24 of 30.