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The Texas Rangers will host the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday night. These American League West teams find themselves well under .500 with a few weeks left in the regular season. The Rangers split their doubleheader versus the Miami Marlins on Monday, moving to 61-80 on the season. The Athletics are now 51-90 on the year after their win over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday.
"Top play of the homestand? That's up to you!" - Athletics
Texas has been poor while home, carrying just a 29-40 record at Globe Life Field. They're also slumping badly, having lost 13 of their previous 16.
Texas sends out hurler Cole Ragans, who has a 0-2 record with a 3.80 ERA and 1.45 WHIP in limited innings. The Athletics lineup, which scores the second-fewest runs per game, shouldn't be too tough to handle normally. However, they did get to Ragans recently, tallying three runs in five innings off the rookie.
The encouraging news, though, is that recently the left-hander has been better, surrendering just one earned run in his past seven innings over two starts. Oakland has been inconsistent this year offensively, so we'll see if Ragans can fare better against them this time around.
Ken Waldichuk gets the ball for Oakland. Waldichuk came over from the New York Yankees' farm system in a trade that sent Frankie Montas to New York. This will be just his third outing of the year. The Rangers offense he'll be up against ranks 13th in runs per game and 16th in OPS, and hitting hasn't really been the issue for the visitors.
In his last outing, the lefty Waldichuk threw 5 1/3 innings, surrendering three hits and three earned runs in a loss to the Atlanta Braves. The Rangers should be easier to navigate than the Braves, but there's uncertainty given Waldichuk's inexperience.
Texas Rangers vs. Oakland Athletics Match Details
Fixture: Oakland Athletics @ Texas Rangers
Date & Time: Tuesday, September 13, 8:05 p.m. EDT
Venue: Globe Life Field, Arlington, Texas
Texas Rangers vs. Oakland Athletics Betting Odds
Texas Rangers vs. Oakland Athletics Betting Prediction
The Rangers are in a rut at the moment, so it's difficult to back them, even against the A's. With not many career innings between tonight's two southpaw starters, expect these lineups to take advantage. Target the first five innings over here as one of these rookies is bound to slip up.
Prediction: First 5 Innings Over 4.5 Total Runs (-112)
