Oakland @ Texas preview
Choctaw Stadium
Last Meeting ( Sep 9, 2011 ) Oakland 4, Texas 13
THE STORY: With a healthy dose of the Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners over the next two weeks, the Texas Rangers do not appear to be in much trouble of squandering their American League West advantage. The A’s, who face the Rangers five more times between Saturday and Sept. 22, are of particularly little concern. Oakland dropped its ninth straight to Texas on Friday, 13-4, and is three setbacks away from its fourth losing season in the last five years. The A’s will be looking to avoid that history when they send Trevor Cahill to the mound on Saturday afternoon in Arlington, Texas.
TV: 4:10 p.m. ET, FOX
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rangers RH Alexi Ogando (12-7, 3.66 ERA) vs. Athletics RH Trevor Cahill (10-13, 4.20 ERA).
Ogando will return to the Texas rotation after having his last turn skipped in an effort to keeep his innings down. The 27-year old converted reliever was lit up for six runs in four innings against Boston on Aug. 25 and then lasted just 2 2/3 innings against Tampa Bay on Aug. 31. Ogando made a one-inning relief appearance Monday to stay sharp but will likely spend the rest of the month having his innings monitored closely.
Cahill has not quite made the leap to elite status that many predicted this year but has certainly had his moments. The 23-year old sinkerball specialist snapped a six-start winless streak last Sunday, surrendering one run in five innings to beat the Seattle Mariners. Cahill has been at his best this season against Texas, going 2-2 with a 1.86 ERA in four starts.
ABOUT THE RANGERS (82-63): Texas has been muddling along at .500 for the past three weeks but showed some signs of a breakout in Friday’s win. Colby Lewis turned in his best start in weeks and the offense got contributions from top to bottom. Leadoff hitter Ian Kinsler failed to hit his eighth homer in as many games but he did go 3-for-4 with four runs scored to key the 14-hit attack. No. 9 hitter Chris Gentry did his best Kinsler impression with two hits and a pair of runs scored while the middle of the lineup took care of the RBIs. The Rangers did it all without Josh Hamilton, who was out of the lineup for the birth of his fourth child. Texas’ schedule, which includes three at home next week with the Cleveland Indians in addition to the Mariners and A’s, is its biggest asset right now.
ABOUT THE ATHLETICS (65-79): Oakland finished an even 81-81 in 2010 and has not had a winning season since going 93-69 and getting swept out of the American League Championship Series in 2006. That does not figure to end in 2011 with 18 games left. The A’s have been sprinkling in young players like Brandon Allen, Scott Sizemore and Jemile Weeks for a while now, and have recently used the September call-ups to take advantage of another wave of youngsters. Despite Friday’s loss, the mix of young players and veterans like Coco Crisp and Hideki Matsui have managed to average six runs a game in September, up from Oakland’s season average of just over four.
FINAL PITCH: Nelson Cruz, who has been on the Rangers’ disabled list with a strained left hamstring since Aug. 29, has started running the bases and declared himself to be "80 percent" after Friday’s session. The slugging right fielder has yet to run full speed but is on schedule to begin agility drills and a rehab assignment at some point next week.