Baseball Betting Preview: Rangers vs. Athletics

This baseball betting preview for the Rangers vs. Athletics is courtesy of Sportsbook.com, where the line was Texas -150, Oakland +140 and a total of 7 flat. 

The Rangers look to inch closer to another A.L. West title when they play the second of a three-game set in Oakland Wednesday night.

This pitching matchup should be very good, as Texas lefty C.J. Wilson (3-1, 0.92 ERA in September) and Oakland righty Brandon McCarthy (5-3, 2.95 ERA since August 1) have pitched very well of late. But the Rangers have owned the A’s, winning 11 of 12 against them (including four straight in Oakland), and Texas has scored at least four runs each of the four times they’ve faced McCarthy this year (three Texas wins). The Oakland bats have gone cold again (24 runs, .224 BA through the first eight games of the current homestand).

The A’s are second-to-last in the American League in OPS against lefties (.653) and the majority of their lineup has struggled against Wilson over the years, especially C Kurt Suzuki (.209 OPS over 20 career plate appearances) OF David DeJesus (.329 OPS over 19 PA’s), SS Cliff Pennington (.513 OPS in 18 PA’s) and DH Hideki Matsui (.411 OPS in 18 PA’s).

McCarthy (9-8, 3.35 ERA) is 6-3 with a 2.77 ERA over 12 home starts this year. His last two starts against the Rangers haven’t gone well though. On August 12, he got knocked around for seven runs (five earned) over 3.1 innings at home. He then allowed four runs (three earned) over six innings in Arlington on Sept. 9. The two Rangers who have faced him most often over the years have hit McCarthy hard: 3B Adrian Beltre (1.072 OPS over 24 career plate appearances) and DH Michael Young (1.103 OPS in 16 PA’s).