To Little To Late
The Oakland Athletics have been winning with consistency lately, and they’ll be trying to extend that success into their final road trip of the season.
Looking to extend a three-game streak, the Athletics kick off a season-ending, six-game swing on Monday in the opener of a three-game series against the slumping Texas Rangers.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made Texas -130 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for tonight’s game, the over/under has been set at 10.5 total runs (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 67% of bets for this game have been placed on Detroit -111 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
Oakland (74-81) wrapped up a 7-3 homestand by winning seven of the final eight games, including Sunday’s 5-3 victory over Seattle.
Aaron Cunningham tied the score with a pinch-hit, two-run double in the seventh inning, and Jack Cust hit the go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth as the A’s completed their first three-game sweep of an opponent since June 13-15 at San Francisco.
Behind their recent surge, the Athletics moved within a half-game of second-place Texas (75-81) in the AL West. They finished third in the division last season after winning it in 2006.
To improve their positioning in the standings, the A’s must find success against the Rangers. They are 6-10 in the season series, and have gone 2-4 this year at Arlington, where they’ve lost seven of their last nine overall.
Texas, meanwhile, is hoping to finish higher than third in the AL West for the first time since securing the division in 1999.
"It’s the season, as far as I’m concerned," manager Ron Washington told the Rangers’ official Web site. "We need to pull this thing together and finish this thing with our head up. It would be a big disappointment if we don’t finish second."
But Washington’s club is mired in a four-game losing streak – its longest since a seven-game slide April 18-24 – after being swept at home by the division champion Los Angeles Angels over the weekend.
"We got swept. We got beat by a better team," left fielder Marlon Byrd said after Sunday’s 7-3 defeat.
The Rangers are 2-4 on their nine-game homestand, but hope to turn things around behind Kevin Millwood (9-9, 5.15 ERA), who will start on five-days’ rest for the seventh time. He is 2-3 with a 6.05 ERA in those situations thus far.
On Tuesday, the right-hander gave up four runs and five hits over seven innings, but didn’t factor into the decision after his team rallied to a 5-4 victory over Detroit. He is 3-2 with a 4.01 ERA over his last six starts – four of them leading to wins for the Rangers.
Millwood is 4-3 with a 4.02 ERA in 12 career outings versus the Athletics, holding them to a run and five hits in six innings of a 3-1 home victory on May 30.
He’ll be opposed by Greg Smith (7-15, 4.09), who is 1-1 with a 2.89 ERA in September. Smith didn’t earn a decision on Wednesday after tossing six shutout innings and scattering four hits in a 3-2 home win over the Angels.
But Smith hasn’t been as successful in his four starts against Texas. He is 0-2 with a 7.15 ERA in those meetings, and was reached for six runs and seven hits over 5 2-3 innings of a 7-0 home loss on Sept. 12.
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