A win is all it takes for the Oakland Athletics to land a seat in the American League wild card match this coming Tuesday. Standing in their way, though, are the Texas Rangers who will look to play the spoiler’s role one last time.
Can the A’s finally secure that coveted playoff spot? Or will Texas inflict more heartache? Read on for a complete breakdown of this AL West matchup and while you’re at it you can also check out our preview of the Kansas City vs. Chicago White Sox game.
[sc:MLBArticles ]Oakland Athletics vs. Texas Rangers Betting Preview and Prediction
Where: Globe Life Park, Arlington
When: September 28, 2014, 3:05 PM ET
Line: Oakland Athletics (-200) at Texas Rangers (+170); total: 8.0 – view all MLB lines
Betting on the Oakland Athletics
When the Oakland Athletics made the Jon Lester trade back in July, they envisioned that by Game 162, they will already be preparing for Game 1 of the divisional series. Why not? They had the best record in the majors at that time and they were getting one of the premier pitchers in the game for the final stretch run.
[sc:MLB240banner ]So it is quite a shock that the Athletics will head to their final game of the regular season later today still needing a win to ensure that they will play in the American League wild card game this coming Tuesday.
For such a huge game, Oakland will turn the ball over to right-hander Sonny Gray (13-10, 3.21 ERA). After winning the AL Pitcher of the Month award back in July, the 24-year-old has struggled mightily winning just once in his 10 starts since. He is winless in his last six starts, posting a record of 0-3 with an ERA of 4.15.
He can take heart though in his last outing against the Angels as he struck out a career-high 12 batters in seven innings of one-run ball. Unfortunately, his dazzling performance was wasted as the Angels eked out a narrow 2-0 victory.
It has been that way for Oakland since August 10 as they have stumbled to a 15-30 record since then. Last night, they suffered one of those heartbreaking defeats once again, losing a tight 5-4 decision to the Rangers.
The good thing is their fate is still in their own hands. A win today will take them through and they will look for outfielder Josh Reddick to carry the A’s offense once again. The right-fielder is sizzling at the plate right now hitting 10-of-22 (.455) in his last six games.
He will be licking his chops when he faces Nick Martinez today as he’s batting .750 (3-of-4) against the Rangers pitcher lifetime.
The Athletics are just 4-6 in their last 10 away games.
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Betting on the Texas Rangers
It’s quite disappointing that the 2014 season is about to end for the Texas Rangers as they are just now playing some of their best baseball of the year.
With their 5-4 victory against Oakland last night, they have now managed to win 13 of their last 15 games. Playing under interim manager Tim Bogar, they have relished playing the spoiler’s role, defeating teams with postseason aspirations.
In fact, the Athletics have suffered mightily at the hands of the Rangers recently. Ever since September 16, the A’s have lost five of their last six meetings with the Rangers. During that stretch, Texas has outscored Oakland 28-17 as the A’s offense have failed to register the clutch hits.
The Rangers will fancy their chances once again later today when they face A’s pitcher Sonny Gray. They chased Gray from the game after just five innings, scoring five runs as they recorded a huge 7-2 win last September 18th.
For their final game of the season, Texas will send right-hander Nick Martinez (5-11, 4.61 ERA) to the mound. After struggling at the beginning of the season, going 0-6 with a 7.28 ERA in his first eight home starts, the 24-year-old has gotten his groove back posting a solid 2.12 ERA in his last five starts to secure a 2-1 record during that stretch.
Against Oakland, Martinez is 1-0 with an ERA of 2.30 in two starts and one relief appearance.
The Rangers are an impressive 8-2 in their last 10 home games.
Writer’s Prediction
The Athletics (-200) win to grab the second wild card spot.
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