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The Oakland A’s have a chance to secure at minimum a series split this afternoon with a win against division rival Texas Rangers.
Last night’s exciting walk-off was fun and snapped a five-game losing streak but Oakland could use a little less stress today. After using seven pitchers yesterday the A’s decided to switch it up a tad and bring up James Kaprielian to start today’s game, hoping a couple starts in Las Vegas helped him fix the issues that plagued him early in the season. In two starts down there he only allowed one run, so he’s at least on a good track coming into today’s start.
The offense meanwhile is definitely on a good track right now. They racked up 14 hits yesterday on their way to nine runs. Four of those hits were home runs, including Esteury Ruiz’s first career home run. The rookie center fielder also had three hits and is making a (very early) case for rookie of the year atop the A’s lineup.
The other three home runs for Oakland came from their backup catcher, light-hitting infielder and their diamond in the rough outfielder. Brent Rooker ended yesterday’s game with a 3-run bomb and continues to impress in his first real chance at everyday at-bats in the big leagues. He might end up being the A’s representative at the All-Star game should he keep this up.
The Rangers meanwhile still sit atop the division with a 23-15 record, 2.5 games ahead of the Los Angeles Angels. They scored against Oakland in five straight frames yesterday and the A’s will look to tame an offense that has been on fire to start the year. They’re still missing their prized shortstop Corey Seager, and adding him back to this lineup is a scary thought. Oakland needs to take advantage of his absence while they can. A win today again secures series split in this 4-game series, something the A’s could use right now.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Saturday, May 13, 1:07 p.m. PDT
Location: Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, California
TV: FS1
Streaming: MLB.tv
Radio: A’s Cast, Bloomberg 960 AM / 103.7 HD2
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