The Athletics host the St. Louis Cardinals at 9:40 p.m. ET on Tuesday, May 12, in a matchup that brings together two teams with winning records and two lineups built around power. Oakland enters at 21-19 and first in the AL West, while St. Louis is 23-17 and third in the NL Central.
Shea Langeliers and Jordan Walker arrive with the kind of numbers that can change a night quickly. Langeliers has 11 home runs for the Athletics, tied for eighth in the league, and Walker has 11 for the Cardinals, also eighth. Those totals make the middle of the order the clearest route for both clubs if the game turns into a slugfest rather than a pitching duel.
Jeffrey Springs is expected to start for the Athletics. He has a 3-2 record and a 3.89 ERA, giving Oakland a starter who has generally kept games within reach. Andre Pallante is the expected starter for the Cardinals. He comes in at 3-3 with a 4.34 ERA, and St. Louis will be looking for him to settle the game early against a team that has spent most of the season near the top of the division race.
The game also sits inside a broader series preview and watch guide, with betting, ticketing and streaming links provided by partners of The Athletic. That makes the night about more than one box score. For fans, it is a chance to see whether two contenders in different leagues can keep leaning on offense and starting pitching while the injury lists continue to shape the edges of both rosters.
Oakland’s list includes Jacob Wilson on the 10-day injured list with a shoulder injury, Denzel Clarke on the 10-day injured list with a foot injury, Max Muncy on the 10-day injured list with a hand injury and Gunnar Hoglund on the 60-day injured list with a knee injury. St. Louis is dealing with Ramón Urías on the 10-day injured list with an elbow injury, Matt Pushard on the 15-day injured list with a knee injury and Lars Nootbaar on the 60-day injured list with heel injuries.
That is the friction point for both teams: strong records, reliable power and enough injuries to test how long each club can keep this pace. The Athletics have the division lead now, and the Cardinals are close behind in theirs, but Tuesday night will say a lot about which team is better equipped to protect that position when the roster is not fully intact.
