Pirate Galaxy » has been a lengthy process and we are rapt that we can n

OAKLAND, Calif. -- In an effort to avoid a four-game sweep at the hands of their Bay Area rivals, the San Francisco Giants will buck 40 years of baseball tradition.Giants ace left-hander Madison Bumgarner will start Thursday against the Oakland As at the Oakland Coliseum, and he will bat in place of a designated hitter.Bumgarner will become the first starting pitcher to bat intentionally in place of a designated hitter since Ken Brett did so twice for the Chicago White Sox in 1976. Since the DH rule was adopted by the AL in 1973, the only other pitchers knowingly penciled into the batting order in games at AL parks were the Rangers Ferguson Jenkins in 1974 and the Athletics Ken Holtzman in 1975, according to the San Jose Mercury News.The Tampa Bay Rays were forced to use pitcher Andy Sonnanstine instead of a DH in a 2009 game, but that was due to a lineup-card mistake.Bumgarner, who is hitting .175 (7-for-40) with two homers and five RBI this year, will get to bat against As rookie left-hander Dillon Overton due largely to the Giants lack of right-handed-hitting options. Though he pitches left-handed, Bumgarner bats right-handed.Overton, coming off a win in his major league debut Saturday in Anaheim, is excited to face off with Bumgarner the pitcher.Hes one of the best pitchers in baseball, and Ive watched him for numerous years on TV, and Ive taken some pointers from him, Overton said. It will definitely be special to be able to throw against him. It will be fun.Overton had 28 family members from Oklahoma and Texas cheering him on Saturday due a 7-3 victory against the Los Angeles Angels.It was a thrilling start to his career, even though he allowed solo home runs to Mike Trout, Kole Calhoun and Albert Pujols. Those were the only runs Overton allowed in 5 2/3 innings. Now he gets to make his home debut on a day the As will attempt to complete a sweep of the Giants.Being a home-grown guy in this organization, it will definitely be special to throw here finally in front of our home crowd, Overton said Wednesday.After beating the Giants two times at AT&T Park, the As defeated them 7-1 on Wednesday night at the Coliseum. Beating Bumgarner to cap the sweep wont be easy for Oakland, as he is 8-4 with a 1.99 ERA in his career against the Athletics.Hes been awesome, Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford said of Bumgarner. All of his pitches have been sharp. Hes using the cutter and fastball like always, but hes really been mixing in that curveball and been throwing that really well this year, and I think thats probably the biggest difference.Bumgarner had gone 7-0 with a 1.27 ERA over 10 starts before hitting what for him was a rough patch. He has lost back-to-back starts despite allowing a total of just four runs to the Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies in that stretch.After watching his team commit three errors and lose yet another infielder to an injury Wednesday night, Giants manager Bruce Bochy took little solace in the fact that Bumgarner would be on the mound for the series finale.We just have to clean it up, Bochy said. Thats the one thing we were doing very well is catching the ball. You deal with the streaks where you have trouble scoring runs, but the one thing we should be consistent at is catching the ball. Were a pretty good team defensively, and thats gotten away from us.Giants starting second baseman Joe Panik (concussion) went on the seven-day disabled list Wednesday, joining starting third baseman Matt Duffy (left Achilles strain) and backup infielders Kelby Tomlinson (left thumb sprain) and Ehire Adrianza (fractured left foot).Now infielder Ramiro Pena, who started in Paniks place Wednesday, could be headed to the DL. He sprained his left ankle in the third inning in a collision with right fielder Mac Williamson as they pursued a pop fly. Pena, who was charged with an error, stayed in the game until being replaced by a pinch hitter in the fifth.Hes pretty sore, Bochy said. X-rays were negative. Well get an MRI tomorrow. Hes looking at (missing) five to seven days. I think its pretty evident were going to have to get somebody to help out here.Overtons personal rooting section will be decidedly smaller Thursday than it was Saturday, but he still will have six to eight family members at the game.My wifes going to be here, my grandparents will be here and my cousin and uncle will be here, Overton said. And I just found out today my mother-in-law and my wifes grandpa will be here.They should see a much more relaxed pitcher on the mound.Since Ive already had one outing, I think it will be a little easier to not be so star-struck when I go out there this time, said Overton, a second-round pick in 2013 out of the University of Oklahoma. Just easier to stay focused and be ready to do what I need to do. I think it will be fun, and Im looking forward to it. Cheap Heat Jerseys . After slipping from the summit during the week, the Gunners overcame struggling Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains second-half brace. Custom Heat T-shirts . -- The Missouri Tigers might not have a roster full of superstars. http://www.customheatjersey.com/ . Barcelona also left injured defenders Carles Puyol, Javier Mascherano and Jordi Alba out of its squad for the trip to Glasgow. That means that Marc Bartra will probably start again in the centre of the defence alongside Gerard Pique. Chris Bosh Jersey Large . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Custom Chris Bosh Jersey . -- Eastern Kentucky thrives off creating havoc for others. Hawthorn have secured Jaegar OMeara and Brett Deledio will go to Greater Western Sydney but Bryce Gibbs has been left stuck at Carlton in a helter-skelter final day of AFL trading.The Hawks were forced to give up pick 10 in this years draft and next years second-round selection for OMeara, who hadnt played in two years with knee injuries.It has been a lengthy process and we are rapt that we can now officially welcome him to our club, Hawthorn list manager Graham Wright said on Thursday.At only 22 years of age he is an exciting prospect and has many years of good football ahead of him.He has undergone some recent injury troubles, however we are confident that our medical and conditioning staff can work with Jaeger to see him produce his best football.Both deals for OMeara and Deledio were signed off in the final 10 minutes of the trade window, with Richmond gaining a first-round and third-round pick in the 2017 draft for the 29-year-old forward.dddddddddddd.But Gibbs was left at the altar, with Carlton refusing to accept Adelaides offer.The 27-year-old has three years remaining on his deal with the Blues but had gone public with his desire to move to his home state.Collingwood forward Travis Cloke will also play for premiers the Western Bulldogs in 2017 after sealing his own deal.More than half of the trade windows action took place on the last day, with eight deals done in the final 15 minutes before Thursdays 2pm deadline compared to 14 in the opening eight days. 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