The Oakland Athletics have been arguably the best team in baseball from the opening gate this season and tonight they hit the road to take on the Texas Rangers. The game is scheduled for an 8:05 p.m. start time and it will be televised live on MLB.tv. Currently the Major League Baseball Odds for the game have the Athletics listed as a heavy favorite in this one.
Hard to believe Texas is the worst team in the league this season. The Rangers have several good pieces on the team this season, but they're battling injuries and inconsistencies and are on their way to losing 100 games.
Texas has gone just 18-30 in home games this season. They're 22 games under .500 for the season as well. It's going to be hot and sticky down in Texas for this contest, where Jerome Williams, journeyman to the max, gets the ball for the Rangers. He was let go by the Houston Astros recently and found a way to stick with the Rangers.
Williams wasn't making starts for the Astros, but was coming out of the pen. He went just 1-4 with a 6.04 ERA with them this season. He's been a serviceable starter for various teams in his career against Oakland — he's 4-5 with a 4.19 ERA in his 16 career appearances, nine of which were starts, against the Athletics.
Oakland, however, has won five of six overall against Texas. The Rangers found a way to sweep the As back in April, but since have fallen on hard times and become a very mediocre team.
The Athletics are giving the ball to Jason Hammel, who has lost both starts for Oakland since coming over from the Cubs. He's going to be a good starter for them moving forward, but hasn't been able to get his feet down yet.
Tonight we like Oakland to beat up on Texas. There's just no way we can back Texas in this situation.
Free Pick: Oakland 8, Texas 3
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