The Texas Rangers take on the Oakland Athletics. Our MLB odds series has our Rangers Athletics prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Rangers Athletics.
The Texas Rangers are miles away from their ultimate goal. In the middle of May, it is too early to tell if a generally unproven team with noticeable talent is ready to take the next step and reach the playoffs. It's very possible that Texas is ready to rise to the top tier of the American League, but we have to see it unfold over a full season. Anyone who has followed baseball for a few decades and knows the rhythms of the sport is fully aware that a good start — while obviously beneficial — does not guarantee a playoff berth. We're not quite one-fourth of the way through the season. We're nearly there, but most teams haven't played 40 games yet. There are over 120 left to play. Teams such as the Rangers need to be good on Memorial Day. They need to be good on the Fourth of July. They need to be good in mid-August. Then we can really say a team is playoff-worthy or, at the very least, in the thick of the playoff discussion. Right now, the Rangers lead the American League West and have been holding steady. They need to continue to do that if they want to fend off the Houston Astros and the other competitors in the division. Hammering the woeful Athletics is one of the most available and obvious ways in which the Rangers can strengthen their position.
Here are the Rangers-Athletics MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Rangers-Athletics Odds
Texas Rangers: -1.5 (-108)
Oakland Athletics: +1.5 (-111)
Over: 8.5 (-120)
Under: 8.5 (-102)
How To Watch Rangers vs. Athletics
TV: Bally Sports Southwest (Rangers) / NBC Sports California (Athletics) / MLB Extra Innings
Stream: MLB.tv
Time: 9:40 p.m. ET/6:40 p.m. PT
*Watch Rangers-Athletics LIVE on fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Rangers Could Cover The Spread
The Rangers are a good team. Oakland is an awful team. We keep seeing it with the A's: They have a minor-league-caliber ballclub, with the exception of a few players: Esteury Ruiz, Jordan Diaz, J.J. Bleday, Ramon Laureano, and maybe one or two others. There is a lot of dead weight on this roster. The penny-pinching moves by ownership could not be more apparent, and it's a reason A's fans won't go to games. They want ownership to sell and save the team from a move to Las Vegas while also bringing in a new front office which will actually try to win. This front office is not trying to win. The Rangers easily handled Oakland's bats on Thursday in a shutout win. Texas starter Martin Perez can continue to shut down the A's here.
Why The Athletics Could Cover The Spread
The Rangers are a good team, but we need to see so much more from Texas before we anoint the Rangers as the team to beat in the American League West. It's a long season. The Rangers do not have an elite bullpen. They are in the middle of a long Western road trip and are bound to run into nights when they just don't have it.
The other big reason to pick Oakland is that the A's — after getting shut out on Thursday night in the first game of this series — are bound to play noticeably better on offense in this Friday game. If Oakland can score four or five runs, it can win.
Final Rangers-Athletics Prediction & Pick
The Rangers are far better. The A's simply don't have enough hitting to bother Texas. Take the Rangers.
Final Rangers-Athletics Prediction & Pick: Rangers -1.5
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