Game Thread #141: A’s vs. Rangers

The Oakland A’s have won two games in a row, as they cling to hope in the postseason race. Now they get a stretch of nine straight against sub-.500 opponents, beginning with three against the last-place Texas Rangers at the Coliseum.

However, beware the trap. The A’s are 9-7 against the Rangers this year, which is good but closer than you might hope for against a 51-88 club (that’s a .367 win percentage). This could be a prime opportunity to bank some wins, but they’ve gotta go out and actually do it.

Oakland goes with Paul Blackburn on the mound, making his fifth start of the year. He held his own in his first three appearances, including five shutout frames against the Yankees, but last time he was knocked out in the 4th inning by the Blue Jays, allowing four runs on nine hits.

Texas turns to Glenn Otto, making his third career MLB start. The 25-year-old was acquired this summer from the Yankees in the Joey Gallo trade, and in his debut against the Astros last month he tossed five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts. The righty spent most of the summer in Double-A but also logged a handful of innings in Triple-A, with high strikeout rates everywhere as well as low homer rates.

A’s lineup (home)

1. 2B Josh Harrison (R)
2. CF Starling Marte (R)
3. 1B Matt Olson (L)
4. 3B Matt Chapman (R)
5. DH Jed Lowrie (S)
6. RF Mark Canha (R)
7. LF Tony Kemp (L)
8. C Sean Murphy (R)
9. SS Elvis Andrus (R)

• RHP Paul Blackburn

Exactly the same order as yesterday.

Rangers lineup (away)

1. CF Leody Taveras (S)
2. SS Isiah Kiner-Falefa (R)
3. RF Adolis Garcia (R)
4. 1B Nathaniel Lowe (L)
5. LF DJ Peters (R)
6. 2B Nick Solak (R)
7. C Jose Trevino (R)
8. DH Yohel Pozo (R)
9. 3B Yonny Hernandez (S)

• RHP Glenn Otto

Let’s go Oakland!

How To Watch

• Date: Friday, September 10
• Time: 6:40 p.m. PT
• TV (local): NBC Sports California
• Radio: 960 AM (more listings here)
• Streaming (watch): NBCS website (with cable sub)
• Streaming (listen): A’s Cast