Yu Darvish (3-3, 2.77 ERA) is on the hill for the Texas Rangers (71-50) as they square off against Sean Manaea (4-7, 4.57 ERA) and the Oakland Athletics (52-68) in the last of a three-game series at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The Rangers won the last game 5-4, and Texas leads the series 2-0. Action begins at 8:05 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Aug. 17 and can be seen on CSCA and FSSW.
Darvish pitched 6.2 innings in his last outing, surrendering four runs (two unearned), striking out five and walking one in an 8-5 win over the Tigers. Carlos Beltran (.308, 56 Rs, 24 HRs, 72 RBIs) had another good game yesterday, going 4 for 5 with three RBIs. Manaea went 6.0 innings, surrendering three runs, striking out four and walking three in a 6-3 win over the Mariners in his most recent start. Khris Davis (.254, 58 Rs, 30 HRs, 75 RBIs, 1 SB) has been successful at the plate for the Athletics, going 2 for 5 yesterday.
This one isn’t expected to be close when Texas, a big -215 favorite, takes on Oakland. The matchup has an estimated Over/Under (O/U) of nine runs. The Rangers have recorded an overall money line of +2,519 and have shown high-level performance as a favorite this season with a record of 32-19. Texas has had an impressive season against division opponents, earning 12-7 and 31-19 records as the favorite and SU, respectively. The Rangers have no trouble scoring as they rank third in the AL in home offense with 5.1 runs per game. The Rangers are one of the best in the AL in terms of hits at home with an impressive 9.2 per game.
In games where it is the underdog, Oakland has a 35-46 record and an overall money line of -1,250. They have played poorly as the underdog with a 17-18 record against fellow AL West members, and a 4-6 record SU. The Athletics are tough outs for opponents, ranking fourth in the AL with 9.1 hits per road game. Oakland is excellent at making contact with just 6.8 strikeouts per game, ranking second in the AL.
The Rangers have an 18-16 record against left-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Manaea takes the mound. Darvish (RHP) will be on the hill against the Athletics, who have a 39-49 record against right-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – TEX, O/U – Over
Notes
The Athletics lost their last game by a one-run margin. In games decided by one run, the Rangers are 27-8. The Athletics are 19-19 in close games this season.
The Rangers managed to give up eight walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Athletics who are coming in with a 1-2 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
It looks like the Rangers have a slight leg up on the Athletics, as the Rangers have won their last two games while the Athletics have lost their last four.
When they outhit their opponents, the Athletics are 35-13. The Rangers have a 46-9 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 25th, Oakland sits near the bottom of the league in runs, scoring 480 this season. Texas ranks in the top 10 at seventh with 564.
Texas and Oakland both rank near the bottom of the league in walks. Texas sits at 27th with 318 this season and Oakland ranks 29th with 303.
The Rangers are 58-33 in games where they hit one or more home runs. The Athletics are 40-37 when they hit at least one homer.
