Game Preview
On Friday, the Oakland Athletics will begin a six-game road trip against the Texas Rangers in a three-game series. The A’s are hoping to finish the season on a high note despite their 43-97 record, as they have won four of their past six games.
The Rangers are struggling heading into the series and need to win to keep their postseason hopes alive. Texas was in first place in the AL West for a large portion of the regular season, but they have subsequently gone 24–24 and are currently 1–5. They’ve dropped three in a row and are now three games behind the division-leading Astros and one game behind the Blue Jays for the second and last wild card place.
In the series opener, Oakland will send out Paul Blackburn, who is riding a hot streak of starts, to the mound. Blackburn has made six starts since the beginning of August, pitching a total of 35 2/3 innings with a 2.27 ERA and a 3.26 FIP. His last start, a five-inning effort against the Angels, saw him surrender just four hits and one run.
On Friday night, the Rangers’ left-handed pitcher Jordan Montgomery will take the mound. Montgomery hopes to recover from his last disappointing performance against the Twins, in which he surrendered six runs in just three and a third innings of work. On August 9 against the A’s in Oakland, he went six innings, allowing seven hits and two runs.
The A’s had Thursday off, and they’ll only have two more days off in the remaining 23 games of the season. They beat Toronto 5-2 on Wednesday to avoid being swept. In that triumph, home runs were hit by both Carlos Perez and Kevin Smith. After the team placed Lawrence Butler on the bereavement list, they activated Smith to take his position on the active roster. On Friday in Texas, Butler will likely make his return to the lineup.
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Oakland Athletics vs Texas Rangers Game Information
- Date: 09/08/2023
- Time: 08:05 PM ET
- Location: Globe Life Field, Arlington, Texas.
- How to Watch: Athletics vs Rangers MLB.TV
- Live Stream: MLB.TV
