The Texas Rangers (19-16) travel to face off against the Oakland Athletics (17-18) on Monday, May 6th. This game will be played at Oakland Coliseum in Oakland and televised on BSSW. The Rangers are coming off a win in their previous game, while the Athletics are looking to get back on track from a loss to the Marlins. First pitch is set for 9:40 ET.
Rangers vs Athletics
Heading into their last game vs. the Royals, the Rangers closed out the series with a 3-2 win. Leading up to the game, they were the slight favorite at -137 on the money line. It was a big 3rd inning for the Rangers, as they scored all three of their runs in the inning. The Royals could only score two runs, both of which came in the 1st.
Jon Gray put together a good start for the Rangers, going seven innings and giving up just two earned runs, and picking up the win. He also issued only two walks and struck out seven Royals batters. Texas’s offense was carried by Jonah Heim, who went only 1/3 but his hit was a home run, and the Rangers scored two more runs after his homer.
Texas will be on the road to take on the Athletics today, and they are 2nd in the AL West, trailing the Mariners by just a half-game. So far, they are just 5-8 in divisional games, and they are 19-16 overall. The Rangers have won two straight games, and they are 6-4 over their last 10.
At home, the Rangers are 10-9 this season compared to 9-7 on the road. As the favorite, Texas has gone 10-8 this year and 9-8 as the underdog. The Rangers have won two straight games as the road favorite, and they have an overall series record of 6-4-1 this year.
When the Rangers win, they tend to win big, with an average run margin of +4.0. That has led to a run line record of 16-19 overall, with a 8-11 mark at home. Their overall run differential is +0.7 runs per game, but that number drops to +0.1 on the road. As the underdog, they are 10-7 vs. the run line, compared to 6-12 as the favorite.
With an over/under line of 8 runs, the Texas Rangers have only played two games with a lower line this season, and both went under the total. Their games have averaged 8.7 runs per game this season, and their over/under record is 14-20. Their games have had an average line of 9 runs per game this season, and 85.7% of their games have had a line higher than 8 runs.
Andrew Heaney Gets The Start For The Rangers
Andrew Heaney gets the start for the Rangers today as he faces the Athletics on the road. He has made six starts this year and has a record of 0-4 with an ERA of 5.10. Looking at his home/away splits, Heaney has an ERA of 4.08 on the road compared to 7.34 at home. He has allowed a total of five home runs this year. One positive note is that Heaney’s WHIP for the season is 1.10, and he has a batting average allowed of .209. Per nine innings, Heaney is averaging 7.8 strikeouts and 2.7 walks.
Rangers Offense Breakdown
Adolis Garcia is not only leading the Rangers in home runs this season, but he is also 3rd in the league in homers. Garcia is batting .286 for the season and has gone 7/26 with a home run and four RBIs over his last seven games. Marcus Semien is also swinging a hot bat right now, as he is on a six-game hitting streak. For the season, he is batting .257 with five homers and 22 RBIs.
As a team, the Rangers are 10th in scoring at 4.7 runs per game. They have been even better on the road, averaging 5.1 runs per contest. Overall, they are 6th in team batting average and have the 6th fewest strikeouts in the league. Texas comes into the game with the league’s 11th ranked home run total.
The Athletics will be looking to get back on track after closing out their series vs. the Marlins with a 12-3 loss. Oakland was actually the slight favorite at home going into the game but fell behind big early, as the Marlins scored four times in the first.
Offensively, the Athletics only had three fewer hits than the Marlins but scored just three runs. All of their runs came in the 2nd inning. Brent Rooker was 2/3 with a double, two RBIs, and a run scored. The Athletics really missed Matt Chapman in the 2nd, as he was out of the lineup with an ankle injury.
The Athletics will host the Rangers today with an overall record of 17-18, which has them 3rd in the AL West. Currently, they are 2.5 games behind the Mariners for the lead in the division. Oakland is coming off a series win vs. the Marlins and have gone 8-2 across their last 10 games.
At home, the Athletics are 9-10 this year compared to an 8-8 mark on the road. So far, they have been good as the underdog, putting together a record of 13-17. As the underdog, the Athletics have won four straight games, and they are 4-1 when favored this year. Oakland’s overall series record is 6-4-1, and they have won three straight series.
As an underdog, the Athletics have been a good bet on the run line, going 18-12. They have covered the run line in four straight games as the underdog.
The Oakland Athletics have an over/under record of 15-19 this season, and their games have averaged 7.7 runs per game. Their over/under record when the line is set at 8 runs is 4-5-1, and the over has hit in two straight games. The A’s have had 10 games with over/under lines set higher than 8 runs, which accounts for 28.6% of their games this season.
Alex Wood Gets The Start For The Athletics
Alex Wood gets the start for the Athletics today vs. the Rangers and comes into the game with a record of 1-2 and ERA of 6.32. So far, he has made seven starts and has a WHIP of 1.98. Looking at his numbers, Wood has allowed at least one homer in four straight outings. In his last appearance, he finished with a no-decision, giving up two earned runs in four innings of work. Before that, he had lost two straight starts. Wood’s ERA at home is 8.6 compared to 4.43 on the road.
Athletics Offense Breakdown
Heading into today’s game, the Athletics are 3rd in home runs but are batting just .215 as a team, which is 24th in the league. Overall, they are averaging just 3.5 runs per game, which is the worst mark in the league. However, they have been a little better at home, averaging 3.9 runs per contest.
Abraham Toro and Brent Rooker have been swinging the bat well of late, with Toro going 12/32 in his last 10 games, and Rooker is 11/31 with three homers in this stretch. Rooker’s eight homers this season is the best mark on the team and is 3rd in the league. JJ Bleday and Toro are both tied for 3rd on the team with 13 RBIs.
Rangers vs Athletics Prediction
Our predicted score for this one is 5-4 in favor of the Rangers, and with them on the money line at -135, we see this as a good payout for a straight-up win. Looking at the starting pitchers, we have Andrew Heaney finishing with seven strikeouts, which is the second-best among starters today.
As for Alex Wood, he is projected to finish with six K’s, which has him near the bottom of the league in terms of starting pitchers. Offensively, we have the Rangers finishing with nine hits, which has them ranked ninth in the league today.
For the Athletics, they are projected to finish with eight hits, and we have them finishing with four runs, which has them ranked 13th in terms of total runs today.
All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!
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Last updated:May 6, 2024 Athletics, Rangers