The Oakland Athletics take on the Texas Rangers. Our MLB odds series has our Athletics Rangers prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Athletics Rangers.

The Texas Rangers are defending World Series champions and a favorite to make the American League Championship Series this October. The Oakland Athletics are a bottom-rung team with a very tiny payroll and a caliber of roster which is only marginally better than a minor-league team. The Rangers spend a lot, and the A's are dirt-cheap under their ownership group, which has steered the organization into a ditch. These teams exist at the opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of competitiveness, quality, talent, depth, and any other fundamental organizational attribute. Naturally, then, one would have expected the Rangers to blast the A's in the first game of the season between the two teams.

It didn't happen.

Oakland's Shea Langeliers blasted three home runs, including a go-ahead, two-run shot in the top of the ninth inning, to give the A's a shocking 4-3 win over the Rangers in Arlington. The Rangers had three one-run leads — 1-0, 2-1, and 3-2 — but couldn't hold any of them. Oakland pitchers prevented Texas from scoring more than one run in any inning, thereby keeping the game close. That enabled Langeliers to make the difference with his three bombs, including and especially the winner in the ninth. It will be fascinating to see how both teams respond to that most unexpected plot twist as this series moves forward.

Here are the Athletics-Rangers MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: Athletics-Rangers Odds

Oakland Athletics: +1.5 (-128)

Texas Rangers: -1.5 (+106)

Over: 9 (-122)

Under: 9 (+100)

How To Watch Athletics vs. Rangers

TV: NBC Sports California (Athletics) / Bally Sports Southwest (Rangers) / MLB Extra Innings

Stream: MLB.TV

Time: 8:05 p.m. ET/5:05 p.m. PT

*Watch Athletics-Rangers LIVE on fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why The Athletics Could Cover The Spread

The A's have to be feeling great after winning on Tuesday. It wasn't just the fact that they won which should encourage and embolden the A's. They won a tough, close game against an opponent which usually wins such games. They did so on the road. They came from behind. They won in their last at-bat. Winning by making a rough uphill climb is more satisfying than winning a game in which everything goes well. The difficulty of the task adds to the satisfaction for the A's, who are playing with house money and the freedom of having nothing to lose. All the pressure is on the Rangers' shoulders in this series. Texas played like a team with a lot of pressure on its back in the first game on Tuesday. That pressure could mount in this game. Stranger things have happened in baseball than Oakland winning two straight versus Texas.

Why The Rangers Could Cover The Spread

When a very good team loses at home to a bad team, the normal course of events is that the good team will calmly digest a loss in a sport where failure is a reality of life. Even the best teams lose at least 50 to 54 times a season, and even the worst teams will win at least 50 to 54 games. The Rangers are a battle-tested team. They are not going to fall apart because of one bad loss. They suffered a lot of bad losses last season and bounced back from them. They will bounce back here.

Final Athletics-Rangers Prediction & Pick

The Rangers will score a lot more runs than they did on Tuesday. Take Texas.

Final Athletics-Rangers Prediction & Pick: Rangers -1.5