The Oakland Rangers moved to within six games of the Texas Rangers in the AL West standings with a thrilling victory on Tuesday night. The streaking A’s will look to cut that deficit even further when they square off with the Rangers tonight in Game 2 of their three-game series.
Who will emerge victorious in this matchup? Read on below for a breakdown of this divisional clash and while you’re at it, you can check out our preview of the game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins.
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Oakland Athletics vs. Texas Rangers Preview
Where: Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas
When: Wednesday, June 24, 8:05 PM ET
Line: Oakland Athletics (+105) at Texas Rangers (-115); total: 9.0 – view all MLB lines
Betting on the Oakland Athletics
Oakland stretched its unbeaten run to three games with an 8-6 victory over Texas on Tuesday night. The A’s will look to keep their winning streak going later tonight when they take on the Rangers again in the second game of their three-game set.
[sc:MLB240banner ]Starting for the A’s tonight is right-hander Kendall Graveman (3-4, 4.02 ERA). Graveman took the loss in his last start against the Padres despite giving up just two runs on five hits over seven innings of action. He struck out six batters and walked just one in that 3-1 defeat to San Diego on Thursday.
Graveman has been superb for the A’s this June, posting a 2.25 ERA in his four appearances this month. Oakland, however, has failed to capitalize on Graveman’s excellent form, going just 1-3 during that stretch. To illustrate the A’s lack of run support for Graveman, they have scored just a single run in the last 15 innings that he has pitched.
The good news for Graveman is that the A’s are showing signs that they are waking up from their offensive slumber. They have scored a total of 15 runs in their last three wins. Expected to lead the A’s offense tonight against the Rangers are Stephen Vogt and Brett Lawrie. Vogt is 8-of-18 (.444) with six RBIs in his last seven games while Lawrie is 8-of-22 (.364) with four RBIs in his last seven outings.
Texas’s losing woes show no sign of abating as the Rangers suffered a tough 8-6 defeat to bottom side Oakland on Tuesday night. It was the third consecutive loss for the Rangers who dropped down to 37-34 in the AL West standings.
With the Rangers struggling mightily right now, the pressure is on Wandy Rodriguez to deliver a great start for Texas tonight. Rodriguez has been superb for the Rangers this season, posting a 4-2 record with a 3.20 ERA. The Rangers have won eight of their last nine games with Rodriguez as their starter. He was solid in his last start, allowing three runs on nine hits in 5.1 innings of action in Texas’ 5-3 win against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Rodriguez has been on a tear this month, posting a 2.37 ERA and 1.21 WHIP in his last four starts.
He can’t do it all alone, though, and he needs the Rangers’ offense to pick up the scoring slack as well. Expected to lead the Texas lineup tonight are Elvis Andrus and Rougned Odor. They went a combined 6-of-11 in the series opener against Oakland. Also expected to contribute tonight is Korean Shin-Soo-Choo. He is 2-for-3 in his career against Graveman with a homer and three RBIs.
