Rangers host Athletics in A.L. West Showdown

The Oakland Athletics and Texas Rangers go about winning in two entirely different ways. Texas holds a slim 1 game lead over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, but they have plenty of room for error with their pitching staff as their offense is ranked 3rd in Major League Baseball in runs scored. The same cant be said for Oakland. The Athletics are 3rd from last in baseball in scoring, but have an incredibly solid pitching staff that allows them to contend in games that they would ordinarily lose. MLB experts had Oakland finishing towards the bottom of the A.L. West, and the A’s finishing at the top. As of Thursday, they are fairly accurate on their baseball predictions for this division.

Friday’s match-up should be a competitive one as both teams send one of their best starters to the mound in what should be a pitcher’s duel. Gio Gonzalez may be just 8-5 on the season, but his 2.31 earned run average shows that he can be considered one of the elite pitchers in the league. The problem for Gonzalez much like many of the other Oakland starters is that he rarely gets the offensive support he needs to get wins that he rightfully deserves. He has allowed 2 runs or less in 13 of his 17 starts, but received no-decisions or losses in several of those games. A team earned run average of 3.05 would have most other teams well above .500 for the season, yet the A’s are 9 games back, and in last place in the West.

Hitting is not a strength for Oakland. They have very little to offer in terms of on-base percentage or power, and are in desperate need of some consistency at the top of the order. The fact that Coco Crisp leads the team in batting average is bad enough, but his .263 batting average shows that they do not have the players in place to compete on an every-day basis. Josh Willingham lead the team with just 10 home runs. The problem is that Willingham has missed 13 games due to injury. Oakland will need to play perfect baseball against the powerful line-up of Texas if they are to have any chance of winning this series, or even 1 game.

The Rangers are not living up to the predictions of baseball handicappers even though they maintain the lead over the Angels in the West. Prior to the seasons beginning of the year, expert had the Rangers winning this division with ease as they had a superior batting order as well as a solid starting rotation. Unfortunately, the A’s have been bitten by the injury bug, and have not played many games this season at full strength. They have regained all of the pieces that were missing earlier in the year, and are now ready to take control with a strong second half.

With 6 players in double-digits in homeruns, there is no need to worry about power for the Rangers. Michael Young leads the team in batting average, doubles and triples, but Josh Hamilton is sure to overtake him in most of those categories as he is back off of the DL and ready to shred American League pitching. Tune in Friday as C.J. Wilson and the hot-hitting Rangers host Oakland in a battle between the best and worst of the A.L. West.

 

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4. Indians and Rangers in battle of Young Guns
5. Athletics/ Twins: Battle of Underachievers

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