Oakland @ Texas preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 8, 2011 ) Oakland 5, Texas 8

THE STORY: Losing two of three to the Florida Marlins at home may have been a turning point for the Texas Rangers. Since then, they have taken advantage of two other struggling teams, sweeping the pitching-poor Baltimore Orioles in three and taking the first two against the weak-hitting Oakland Athletics. After winning Friday night despite their minds admittedly being on the death of fan Shannon Stone, the heavy-hearted Rangers will send Colby Lewis to the mound against the visiting A’s and Brandon McCarthy on Saturday night. Texas has scored 44 runs in its five-game winning streak. Oakland has lost four of five.

TV: 8:05 p.m. EST, FS-SW (Texas), CSCA (Oakland).

PITCHING MATCHUP: A’s RH Brandon McCarthy (1-5, 3.33) vs. Rangers RH Colby Lewis (8-7, 4.29). Lewis allowed three runs over seven innings July 4 to win his third straight decision. He has 87 strikeouts and 30 walks. Lewis is 2-0 against the A’s this season, giving up three runs in 15 1/3 innings, and is 5-3 lifetime with a 3.04 ERA over 77 innings. Hideki Matsui is 6-for-16 with two homers against Lewis. McCarthy gave up two runs over 6 2/3 innings in his first start since coming off the disabled list July 4. His only win was April 10. McCarthy went six innings, allowing four runs against the Rangers on May 2 and did not get a decision. He is 1-2 against Texas in his career with a 2.86 ERA over 22 innings. Adrian Beltre is 6-for-17 with six RBIs vs. McCarthy.

ABOUT THE RANGERS (49-41): There are plenty of hot hitters in the Texas lineup, but the return of Mike Napoli has been a big boost. Napoli is 6-for-16 the last five games since coming off the disabled list, with two homers, three doubles and eight RBIs. Michael Young continues to swing the bat well, going 12-for-23, and Ian Kinsler is 10-for-24 the last six games. Elvis Andrus has broken out of a brief slide by going 7-for-12 the last three games. The Rangers do have a bit of a concern with closer Neftali Feliz. His ERA has ballooned from 1.98 to 3.27 the last two-and-a-half weeks.

ABOUT THE A’S (39-51): Only two teams in the majors have won fewer games on the road (16) than Oakland. The A’s are batting .234, near the bottom of the league, and are likely to go into the All-Star break with an average below .243 for the first time since 1982. Oakland, shut out 10 times this season, has scored four runs or more only five times in 16 games. Josh Willingham does have three hits in eight at bats, including a ringing RBI double Friday. Scott Sizemore has proven to be a good pickup from Detroit. The second baseman is 10-for-28 the last eight games. The A’s would like to get more from Conor Jackson, who is 0-for-17 the last five games.

FINAL PITCH: Napoli’s grand slam Friday gave him 38 RBIs in 39 career at-bats with the bases loaded. It was the second slam of the season for the Rangers. Beltre hit one April 2 against Boston.