The Oakland Athletics take on the Texas Rangers. Check out our MLB odds series for our Athletics Rangers prediction and pick.
Adam Oller takes the ball for the Athletics, while Cole Ragans goes to the bump for the Rangers.
Adam Oller has a 7.26 ERA, but it's hard to get a really good read on him, given his low-workload, low-rhythm year. Oller made some relief appearances for the A's in the early months of the season. Then he made some spot starts. Then he went back to the bullpen. Then he became a regular part of the rotation a month ago.
He pitched only once from April 23 through June 11. He did not pitch at all from June 30 through July 16. The A's have struggled in formulating a plan for him, but it seems they finally settled on giving him a spot in the rotation after Frankie Montas was traded and Paul Blackburn was shut down for the rest of the season. He has made only one appearance this year in which he has pitched more than five innings. He has pitched fewer than 50 innings in 2022. Those innings have not been good, but it's a very small sample size. He was not especially good in his most recent start against the Houston Astros, but he wasn't terrible, either: 4 2/3 innings, two runs allowed, five hits. Against a Texas team which has badly disappointed this year, Oller might be able to produce a respectable start.
Cole Ragans made his MLB debut on Aug. 4. He has pitched 9 1/3 innings in two starts. He pitched really well in a win over the White Sox, and poorly in a loss to the Astros. He, like Oller, is learning how to pitch and trying to build a major-league career. The A's and Rangers are playing to develop players and see what they have for 2023. Oller and Ragans are both immersed in on-the-job training right now.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Athletics-Rangers MLB odds.
MLB Odds: Athletics-Rangers Odds
Oakland Athletics: +1.5 (-150)
Texas Rangers: -1.5 (+125)
Over: 9 (+100)
Under: 9 (-122)
Why The Athletics Could Cover the Spread
Cole Ragans has not yet pitched 10 innings in his big-league career. The A's, coming off a strong performance in a Tuesday night win in Arlington, have to feel confident about facing Ragans. They should be able to score at least four runs against him, which — given Texas' struggles at the plate — could be enough to win but offers very good odds of being able to cover on the run line, getting one and a half runs. If the A's can score anything more than four runs, they're in great shape to cover the spread.
Why The Rangers Could Cover the Spread
Adam Oller has been shredded in many of his starts this season. Four runs is the floor for him, not the ceiling. If the Rangers can exceed that floor by three runs, the light-hitting A's will have to match them in a shootout, which is not the scenario Oakland wants to rely on to win games. As bad as this season has been for the Rangers, Corey Seager has been mashing home runs, and he has hit a few against the A's. After a Tuesday game in which nothing went right for Texas, the Rangers should be able to bounce back and put the laws of averages on their side.
Final Athletics-Rangers Prediction & Pick
Two pitchers are basically immersed in job training. If you want to pick this game, have at it, but it's a true stay-away game. If you absolutely insist on a pick, over nine runs looks good.
Final Athletics-Rangers Prediction & Pick: Over 9
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