Cunningham and the rest of the A's face Los Angeles starter John Lackey (11-3, 3.25 ERA) on Tuesday. The right-hander has dominated the Athletics, going 14-3 with a 2.67 ERA in 25 career starts against them, including 8-1 with a 1.71 ERA in his last 10.
Since a complete-game victory over Oakland on Aug. 26, however, Lackey is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in two starts. He gave up five runs in seven innings of the Angels' 7-6, 15-inning loss to the Chicago White Sox on Sept. 6.
He'll try to get back on track in a matchup with Oakland's Sean Gallagher (1-2, 5.87), who fared well despite control problems Wednesday in his return from the disabled list. After being sidelined three weeks with shoulder fatigue, the right-hander held Detroit hitless in four scoreless innings of Oakland's 5-2 victory. He walked six and struck out six.
Gallagher won his only previous start against the Angels, holding them to two runs and two hits in seven innings of a 9-2 victory July 11.
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The story of "K-Rod" in 2002 is a part of Angels' lore.
Then 20 years old, Francisco Rodriguez was a September call-up and didn't even make his major-league debut until Sept. 18. But he struck out 13 batters in his first 5 2/3 innings in the majors and made the Angels' post-season roster, going on to become a key part of the Angels' run to the franchise's first (and so far only) World Series title.
This year, the Angels could have a similar story.
Kevin Jepsen began the season in Class AA, made a mid-season jump to Class AAA, went to Beijing with Team USA and was part of the bronze-medal winning baseball team then was promoted to the majors for the first time as a September call-up. Now he has a chance to pitch his way onto the Angels' post-season roster and join fellow rookie Jose Arredondo and veteran setup man Scot Shields as part of the Angels' relief relay team leading up to Rodriguez.
"He has a power arm, no doubt about it," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said of Jepsen, who has been clocked as high as 97 mph during his first two big-league appearances.
"I don't think it serves any purpose to compare him to what Frankie did in 2002. But there's certainly going to be an opportunity... We won't hesitate taking some young guys and moving forward with them if we feel it gives us the best look."
That opportunity has been created by the struggles of veteran Justin Speier. Speier, Jepsen and Jason Bulger are essentially competing for the final spot in the Angels' playoff bullpen.
