2020-09-11 20:05:00 EDT
The Oakland Athletics and the Texas Rangers meet Friday in MLB action from Globe Life Field.
This will be the first installment of a four-game weekend set between these squads. The A’s are coming out of a five-game series versus the Astros. Oakland managed to win three out of the first four matchups in that set. In the Thursday finale, the A’s came back from a sixth-inning deficit to power out a 3-1 win. As for the Rangers, they just finished up against the Angels. Texas took the first two in that trio, then on Thursday the Rangers fell 6-2 to lose out on the sweep. Check back all season long for free MLB picks and MLB predictions at Sports Chat Place.
The Athletics had just five hits in the Thursday game, but held Houston to only two. Matt Olson slapped a two-run homer in the win, while starter Sean Manaea went 7.0 innings with two hits, one earned and four strikeouts.
For the Friday starting pitcher role, the A’s will send out Mike Fiers. Over eight starts this year, Fiers is 4-2 with a 4.93 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 42.0 innings of work. In his MLB career, Fiers is 73-61 with a 4.05 ERA and 978 Ks in 1124.2 innings total.
Over on the Rangers’ side, they were out-hit 11-4 in the Thursday loss, with Anderson Tejeda collecting two of those hits and an RBI. Starting pitcher Kyle Gibson had a bad day with 5.2 innings, five earned, 10 hits, three walks, two homers allowed and three strikeouts.
As the Friday starting pitcher, Texas will send Jordan Lyles out to the mound. This year, Lyles is 1-4 in eight games (six starts) with an 8.07 ERA and 22 Ks in 35.2 innings of work. On his MLB career, Lyles is 44-64 with a 5.22 ERA and 718 Ks in 945.1 innings total.
The Athletics are 13-5 in their last 18 Friday games and 20-8 in their last 28 games as a road favorite. Oakland is 58-24 in their last 82 games as a favorite and the under is 6-0 in their last six during game one of a series.
Meanwhile, the Rangers are 4-1 in their last five during game one of a series and 5-16 in their last 21 games as an underdog. Texas is 5-18 in their last 23 games on grass and 20-41 in their last 61 games versus a team with a winning percentage above .600.
Pick: I’m going with the A’s here. The good news for the Rangers is that Lyles is 2-0 with a 1.45 ERA versus Oakland in his career; the bad news is that he’s 1-1 with a 7.16 ERA and a 1.65 ERA across four appearances at home this season. Fiers has been great on the other side, and is 3-1 with a 3.22 ERA in his last four starts. The A’s are 6-2 in Fiers’ starts this season.
