The Athletics and Rangers are set to face off in an AL West matchup at 2:35 PM ET at Globe Life Field in Arlington. Oakland is 59-77 this season, which has them 4th in the AL West, while the Rangers are 64-72 and they are 3rd in the division.
NSPCA will be televising Sunday's matchup, and the Rangers are the slight favorite on the money line, with their odds sitting at -131. The over/under line is currently 9 runs, and Sunday's starting pitching matchup is Mitch Spence for the Athletics and Walter Pennington for the Rangers.
Oakland vs. Texas Matchup At A Glance
- Teams: Athletics at Rangers
- Where: Globe Life Field Arlington
- Date: Sunday, September 1st
- Betting Odds TEX -131 | OAK +110 O/U 9
Athletics vs Rangers Last Game Recap
Thanks to a two-run homer from Jonah Heim and a good outing from Cody Bradford, the Rangers picked up a 3-2 win over the Athletics in the most recent game of this series. Heading into the game, the Rangers were favored at -166 on the money line.
Bradford went seven innings for the Rangers, giving up just two hits and two earned runs. He finished the game with eight strikeouts but didn't issue a walk. As for the Athletics, Joey Estes also had a solid outing, going six innings and giving up two earned runs on six hits.
Oakland had a chance to tie the game in the 9th, scoring one run off Kirby Yates, but Yates closed things out for the Rangers. Tyler Ferguson took the loss for the A's out of the bullpen.
Athletics Preview
When the A's are the underdog, they are 48-73, but they have a 69-52 run line record. Oakland is looking to take the series lead today, as they are 16-22-4 overall in series this season and have won three straight series on the road.
Overall, the Athletics are 59-77, 15 games behind the Rangers for the 2nd Wild Card spot. Their average run margin in winning games is +3.4, and their over/under record for games with a 9-run line is 9-8-1.
Mitch Spence is looking to bounce back from his last outing, where he finished with a no-decision. Against the Reds, he gave up just one earned run in 5 1/3 innings of work. Looking back further, Spence has made 18 starts and has a record of 7-9. His ERA for the season is 4.54, along with a WHIP of 1.34. Overall, he has turned in three quality starts and is averaging 7.44 strikeouts per nine innings. Spence has been much better at home, with a 3.9 ERA compared to 7.13 on the road.
As a team, the Athletics are 5th in the league in home runs, but they are just 25th in runs scored this season at 4.1 runs per game. Their team batting average of .233 is also just 17th in the league. However, they do have a few hitters who have been swinging the bat well of late. Lawrence Butler has gone 13/34 in his last eight games, including seven homers, and 12 RBIs.
Brent Rooker and Shea Langeliers have been two of the Athletics most consistent power threats this season, with Rooker leading the team with 33 homers and Langeliers sitting in the 2nd spot with 23 homers. Rooker also comes into the game with a team-best batting average of .289.
Rangers Preview
Today's game between the Rangers and Athletics features a total of 9 runs, which is higher than the average line of 8 runs per game for Texas this season. The Rangers are 59-72 O/U this year, and when the O/U line has been set at 9 runs, they have an 8-13-2 O/U record. Texas is 35-32 at home this season and 6-4 in their last ten games.
Overall, the Rangers are 64-72 and are currently tied with the Athletics in their series. Texas has a 43-32 record as the favorite straight up, but they are just 23-52 against the run line in that role. Their run line record is 55-81 overall, including a 25-42 mark at home.
Walter Pennington is getting the start for the Rangers today and has made eight appearances out of the bullpen this season. He has a record of 0-0 and an ERA of 3.00. Opponents have hit .250 off Pennington this year, and his WHIP is 1.89. The right-hander has not given up an earned run in his last three outings, going back to August 17th. Pennington most recently pitched on August 30th, where he gave up one hit and two walks in one-third of an inning of work. He finished with a no decision in that outing. Per nine innings, Pennington has 11 strikeouts and seven walks.
Corey Seager has been swinging a hot bat for the Rangers, going 7/18 in his last four games with two runs and three RBIs. For the season, he is batting .275 and leads the team with 30 homers and 74 RBIs. Adolis Garcia is 2nd on the team with 21 homers but has a batting average of just .221. Marcus Semien comes into the game with 18 homers and is batting .238.
Over their last five games, Nathaniel Lowe and Corey Seager have both gone 7/18. Lowe has one homer in this stretch, while Seager has gone deep once in his last four games. Carson Kelly and Nathaniel Lowe are both on five-game hitting streaks. As a team, the Rangers are 23rd in scoring at 4.1 runs per game and have a team batting average of .238.
Athletics vs. Rangers Prediction: Rangers ML -131
We see the Rangers taking this one at home with a final score of 6-5. Given that they are at -131 on the money line, this is the way we recommend playing this one.
Looking at the starting pitchers, Mitch Spence is predicted to finish with five strikeouts. However, we have him ranked 13th in terms of starters to pick up a win, so we would look to stay away from him in the win market.
