MLB Regular Season: Texas Rangers at Oakland Athletics Series Preview
A's Can Give Rangers Some Trouble
The 2024 Oakland Athletics probably won’t contend for the American League West title for the whole season but, for now, they’re doing a pretty good job. Despite all of the turmoil going on around the franchise regarding its upcoming move to Sacramento (and future move to Las Vegas) and a 50-win 2023 season, Mark Kotsay’s club is 17-18 right now and is playing really good baseball.
They’ll host the defending World Series champion Texas Rangers this week and this Rangers vs Athletics preview will show how Oakland can hold its own. The Rangers are -130 moneyline favorites for Monday’s opener.
The A’s had a six-game winning streak snapped with Sunday’s 12-3 loss to the Marlins but Oakland has won eight of its last 10 games overall and is only 2.5 games behind the Mariners for first place in the AL West.
Oakland did score 20 runs against Miami in a blowout win on Saturday yet the A’s have mostly been winning due to great pitching and timely hits from a young core. The MLB stats aren’t pretty for their rotation or lineup yet Oakland — led by stud young closer Mason Miller — has a top-five bullpen by many measurements. That will be important for facing the Rangers.
Texas is 19-16 and has won six of nine after taking two of three from the upstart Royals this weekend. The Rangers’ lineup is holding things together with so many key starting pitchers on the shelf with injuries.
Texas is still without Josh Jung and just lost Wyatt Langford to the IL as well to go with Nathan Eovaldi, Cody Bradford, Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom and Tyler Mahle. Even shorthanded, the Rangers have a ton of talent all around the field.
Texas Rangers vs Oakland Athletics 
Day/Time:
Location: Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, California.
A’s Rotation Can Be Shaky
This is a four-game series with a doubleheader on Wednesday so both the A’s and Rangers are using spot starters for the second game of the doubleheader after going with regulars for the first three games of the series.
Oakland’s projected starters are Alex Wood, Ross Stripling, JP Sears and Osvaldo Bido while Texas is scheduled to throw Andrew Heaney, Jack Leiter, Michael Lorenzen and Owen White. So, because neither team is using its top arms, this Rangers vs Athletics preview will focus on the middle-to-back of the rotations.
Oakland’s starters are 24th in MLB in ERA in part due to Wood’s struggles as he currently has a 6.32 ERA over his seven starts. Stripling (4.24 ERA) and Sears (3.89 ERA) have been decent while Bido will be making his season debut.
None of the Athletics’ starters are big strikeout guys which makes the task of reining in the Rangers more difficult because they strike out a lot. The A’s as a staff has struck out the fourth-fewest batters in the AL; this is a team that relies on preventing home runs and getting soft contact.
If you’re doing some baseball betting, consider taking the over in the first game and throughout the series as well. The total for Monday’s game is a relatively low eight runs and the over is -105. With Texas having a top-ten lineup and some big-name power threats — from Marcus Semien and Corey Seager to Nathaniel Lowe and Adolis GarcÃa — this is the type of lineup that can do some damage to Oakland’s finesse staff.
Rangers’ Pitchers Will Do Just Enough
As this Rangers vs Athletics preview noted above, Texas’ rotation is kind of piecemeal right now as the Rangers wait for some of their bigger arms to get healthy. Heaney and Lorenzen might be squeezed out of rotation spots based on how things shake out but for now, they’ve done a fine job even if Heaney’s issues with home runs (five allowed in 30 innings) have hurt him this season.
Leiter — who will be making his second MLB start on Tuesday after a very unsuccessful first one — and White, with just four MLB innings under his belt, are wild cards who likely won’t be asked to go too far into their games.
On paper, it doesn’t look great for Texas but the A’s are 28th in baseball in average and on-base percentage and 24th in runs scored. They are 2nd in home runs but without getting many guys on base for their power hitters, like Brent Rooker and Shea Langeliers, that damage has been limited. So while it’s not like Texas has deGrom, Scherzer and Eovaldi on the mound, the Rangers should be able to get by sufficiently so their offense can carry the rest of the load.
One of the MLB best bets you can take is going with Texas either on the moneyline tonight as a -130 favorite or to cover the 1.5-run runline at +130. Heaney going against Wood is probably the most favorable matchup for Texas of this series as Wood has struggled mightily with both hits and walks. The Rangers should have a field day against him.
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