Friday night baseball and we will see the Oakland A's take on the Texas Rangers in game 1 of their 3 game series from Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas. First pitch is scheduled for an 8:05 PM (Eastern) start time and the game will be televised locally.
Current Odds
Oakland -172
Texas -157
Over/ Under: 9.5 O -115
Analysis: The Oakland A's have the best record in baseball at 63-38, including 29-21 on the road. Despite being 25 games over .500 they are finding it difficult to shake the LA Angels, who are just 2.5 games behind them. The A's have been great on offense, ranking 1st in the league in scoring (5.04 rpg), 13th in hitting (.255) and 6th in homers (105). The pitching has super for them also, as they rank 2nd in the league in ERA (3.11) and 2nd in WHIP (1.15). Getting the ball for the Angels tonight will be Jason Hammel, who is 8-7 with a 3.35 ERA overall this year, while with the A's he has gone 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in 2 starts.
The Texas Rangers are way out of the race in the AL West as the are 23.5 games behind the A's, while bringing in the worst record in baseball to this series. The Rangers come in very average on offense, ranking 15th in scoring (4.03 rpg), 7th in hitting (.258) and 27th in homers (72). The pitching has been very poor for this team, as they are 29th in ERA (4.85) and 30th in WHIP (1.49). Getting the ball for the Rangers tonight will be Jerome Williams, who is being called up from AAA for this game. Jerome was 1-4 with a 6.04 ERA in 26 relief appearances for the Astros this year, before being traded to the Rangers.
Pick: Best in baseball vs the worst in baseball. I will take the best here. Jason Hammel has not pitched well for the A's since coming aboard, but I feel that he will have his best showing yet vs a Rangers team that just isn't all that good this year. The A's have the top offense in baseball and will be facing Jerome Williams who is making his first start of the year, after posting a 1-4 mark and a 6.04 ERA in 26 relief appearances for Astros. The Rangers don't have the pitching or hitting to keep pace with baseball's best team here.
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