Rangers Lick Chops For Home Series Against A’s
Epic Athletics vs Rangers Preview Breaks Down This Series
The Oakland Athletics will hit the road to take on the reigning and defending MLB World Series Champions, the Texas Rangers. If this seems like an unfair matchup, it’s because it is. The Athletics (A’s) have started the season 3-7 while announcing they’ll play in Sacramento until they can move to Las Vegas. Therefore, the A’s won’t even be in Oakland next year and will play in a minor league ballpark. The vibes are bad.
On the other hand, the Rangers came into the season with many players on the MLB Injured List. Yet, they’re still 6-3 to begin the year. Texas has been aggressive with its young rookies and prospects, and it’s worked. Not many teams do this because of the potential loss of service time.
So, while the Rangers invest in whatever it takes to win, the Athletics do the opposite. It’s clear which team has the advantage in this mid-week three-game series.
Read our Athletics vs Rangers preview for this American League matchup below.
Athletics vs Rangers 
Records: Oakland Athletics (3-7), Texas Rangers (6-4)
Day/Time:
Location: Globe Life Field, Arlington, TX
Stream: Bally Sports Southwest, NBC Sports California
Is Oakland That Bad?
The Athletics ownership isn’t worried about winning. They’re not investing in legitimate MLB players that can help make their MLB team better. However, that doesn’t mean the players on the Athletics are not trying.
The roster is still giving it their all.
Over the weekend, the Athletics won the series against the Detroit Tigers. They performed well on the mound from Paul Blackburn and Joe Boyle and some big at-bats from Brent Rooker and Zack Gelof.
So now there’s a little hope for the fanbase that the Athletics will be somewhat enjoyable this season.
Jacob deGrom’s Rehab Going Well
The Texas Rangers have several great pitchers on the injury list. But the best one is Jacob deGrom, whom the Rangers haven’t seen much of since he came over from the Mets.
However, while recovering from elbow surgery, he’s now another step closer. It was announced that he was throwing from 90 feet on Monday. It was a step in the right direction, as he had only been throwing from 75 feet earlier.
DeGrom will take baby steps each week to get back on the mound for the second half of the season. He’ll join Max Scherzer and Tyler Mahle as reinforcements for the starting rotation.
Athletics vs Rangers Preview & Odds For Game 1: RL: -1.5 (-105) ML: Rangers -205, O/U 9 +100/-120.
âš¾ Game 1 âš¾
- Tuesday, 8:05 pm ET
- Alex Wood vs Nathan Eovaldi
The Athletics will begin the series with a left-handed pitcher, Alex Wood. Wood is a veteran who only struck out 17.2% of batters last season. The lefty also struggled against righties, allowing a .178 ISO and a wOBA of .351 last season.
This year, in two starts, he’s got a 9.72 ERA with just 8.1 innings under his belt. His WHIP has increased to 1.92, and he’s allowed a .421 wOBA to 42 batters this season.
Wood will face another veteran in Nathan Eovaldi. Eovaldi has a 1.38 ERA in two starts. However, he’s only struck out 11 batters in 13 innings. Still, he’s been able to hold opponents to a .294 wOBA and has induced 47.1% of ground balls to begin the year. He’s been excellent.
Meanwhile, Oakland’s lineup has a lot of potential regarding power. The projected squad has hit a .197 ISO going back to last MLB season. However, the lineup has also struck out nearly 27% of the time, which is its downfall.
The Rangers can rely on five different bats in the lineup against lefties. Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, Wyatt Langford, Adolis Garcia, and Jonah Heim have all hit a wOBA of at least .368 against lefties. Consider backing the Rangers in Game 1 of the series.
âš¾ Game 2 âš¾
- Wednesday, 8:05 pm ET
- Ross Stripling vs Cody Bradford
The MLB pitching matchups and odds will favor the Rangers in Game 2 of this series. The Athletics will pitch Ross Stripling, who is already 0-2 in two starts with Oakland this season. Ironically, he’s been one of the better starters for the Athletics, holding a 3.75 ERA. However, he still has a 1.42 WHIP to begin the season, allowing 15 hits in 12 innings of work.
He’ll take on left-handed pitcher Cody Bradford of the Rangers. Bradford has been super surprising to start the year. He’s got a 2-0 record in two games and a 2.13 ERA in 12.2 innings. His WHIP is also just .47.
Against lefties, the Athletics have Brent Rooker, who has a .258 ISO and wOBA of .393. But that’s ultimately the only consistent batter in the Oakland lineup dating back to last season against lefties.
Texas has way more power potential, with Corey Seager, Adolis Garcia, and Evan Carter all hitting a high ISO against righties dating back to last season. We’d have no problem backing the Rangers with our baseball betting picks again in this one.
âš¾ Game 3 âš¾
- Thursday, 2:35 pm ET
- JP Sears vs Jon Gray
Finally, for Game 3 of our Athletics vs Rangers preview, it’ll be JP Sears on the mound for the Athletics. He has the most potential in the starting rotation but hasn’t pitched well enough to begin the year.
Sears is a left-handed pitcher who has allowed a .316 ISO and wOBA of .429 to 44 batters this season. He’s faced 34 righties and has only earned 2.9% of strikeouts while giving up 34.5% of fly balls.
He’s earned just one strikeout in each of his first two starts. That’s not ideal at the MLB level.
Meanwhile, the Athletics will have their best chance at scoring runs in Game 3. They’ll face Jon Gray, a righty with a 6.14 ERA in two starts. Gray has thrown just 7.1 innings and has only five strikeouts with a WHIP of 2.45. He’s already allowed a .429 wOBA to 40 batters and has struck out fewer batters than walked so far.
We’d be more comfortable with the Over in this game. The MLB results could be epic, with plenty of runs in this matchup.
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