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In a west coast showdown, the Texas Rangers travel to Oaktown to take on The Oakland Athletics at the Coliseum. It is about that time to take look at our MLB odds series, where our Rangers-Athletics prediction and pick will be revealed.
The Rangers enter play coming off a relieving 7-2 win against the Angels in Anaheim that saw Texas snap a three-game skid. After the victory, Texas now sits at 19-23, which is good enough for third place in the AL West. Eager to begin the start of a winning streak, it will be left-hander Martin Perez’s turn in the rotation as he will look to improve upon his 3-2 record and 1.64 ERA.
As for the Athletics, things had gone from bad to worse prior to winning back-to-back contests against the Mariners in Seattle. While a 19-27 record isn’t going to cut it, the rebuilding A’s are looking for some much-needed wins to inspire the troops as the MLB season inches closer to the month of June.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Rangers-Athletics MLB odds.
MLB Odds: Rangers-Athletics Odds
Texas Rangers: +1.5 (-220)
Oakland Athletics: -1.5 (+180)
Over: 7 (+104)
Under: 7 (-128)
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Why The Rangers Could Cover the Spread
It didn’t seem too long ago that the Rangers disastrous start to the season took place, but with some key wins as of late, Texas has skyrocketed themselves up the standings and are only four games under .500.
In the decisive victory over the Angels, the Rangers mustered up ten hits including four of them going for extra bases. After a brutal nine-game gauntlet against the cream of the crop in the Astros and Angels, the Rangers were able to compile a 5-4 record, an impressive mark considering the three game losing streak that took place during the middle of that stretch. With the newfound confidence coming against some of the hottest teams in baseball, Texas will look to translate that success against a team that has not been as warm as Texas’ previous opponents.
At the plate, the Rangers have been fairly below-average throughout the entire season. Texas has scored 171 runs total on the year, which only ranks as the 22nd most in baseball. Rangers hitters are also only hitting .223, which is well below the league median. If Texas can carry over the productive outing at the dish against the Angels into tonight’s matchup at Oakland, then Texas will have a greater chance than not at covering the spread.
Statistically, the Rangers have slightly been the better team at the plate in comparison to the A’s, but they have struggled at times on the mound. With a 4.01 ERA, there have been multiple contests that have slipped right through Texas’ fingers thanks to a pitching collapse.
Luckily, Martin Perez is coming off his best outing of the season last Friday versus the ‘Stros when he fired a complete game shutout. Perez disposed of Houston rather easily, as he struck out five batters in pursuit of his third victory in just as many appearances.
Why The Athletics Could Cover the Spread
After a horrendous 13 game losing streak versus the Mariners, the A’s were finally able to get the monkey off their backs and snap the skid in a 7-5 win on Tuesday. Oakland then doubled down and all-around played a terrific game against the Mariners in a 4-2 victory yesterday. With momentum clearly on the Athletic’s side, Oakland will be facing a Texas squad that also is fresh off of a satisfying win themselves. For Oakland to continue their winning ways and cover the spread in the process, a couple things must go their way.
To begin, Oakland has to find a way to swing the bats early and often. With the lack of consistency at the plate, it is often a new name each game that has a chance to show what they can do and come through in the most critical moments over the course of nine innings. Whether it is left-fielder Seth Brown, shortstop Elvis Andrus, or even the backstop himself in Sean Murphy, someone needs to leave their mark on Thursday with a clutch performance.
If Oakland is going to win in any fashion, then the A’s pitching might have to come in handy this evening. As a team, the A’s have pitched rather effectively with a 3.87 ERA and have also dialed up 13 quality starts from starters through the first 46 games of the 2022 season.
While scheduled starter Frankie Montas has recorded a 3.55 ERA, he is coming off a not so ideal outing in which he only lasted 1 2/3 innings after getting hit with a liner on his hand. Despite the injury setback, Montas seems ready to give it his all versus a Texas team that he has gone 2-3 against with a 5.03 ERA in his career.
Final Rangers-Athletics Prediction & Pick
On paper, both of these squads seem to cancel each other out, and the added intensity of a divisional matchup always makes the stakes higher. However, expect Perez to continue his stellar preciseness on the mound en route to a key road win at the Oakland Coliseum.
Final Rangers-Athletics Prediction & Pick: Rangers +1.5 (-220)