Thursday, September 24, 2015

O.co Coliseum

For Updated Odds on This Game Click Here

Probable Pitchers: Cole Hamels (4-1) vs. Chris Bassitt (1-6)

The Oakland Athletics welcome the Texas Rangers to O.co Coliseum on Thursday. Cole Hamels is the probable starter for the Rangers and he'll face Chris Bassitt of the Athletics. The opening line for this matchup has Texas at -148 and Oakland at +138. The over/under was set at 8. The Rangers, with a 90-60 run line record, cover the spread 60% of the time. They also have a 65-76 over/under record. The Athletics are 71-80 against the run line and have a 78-64 over/under record. They cover the spread 47% of the time.

The Rangers head into this matchup with a 81-69 record, including 42-34 on the road. Cole Hamels has a 4-1 record on the season, an earned run average of 3.73 and a 1.26 WHIP. The Rangers are 7-2 over his 62.2 innings pitched and he's also given up 63 hits over that time period. The Rangers are also 5-3 against the over/under in his starts. He is getting 5.6 runs from the team when he takes the mound. The bullpen has given up 441 hits on the season and have an earned run average of 4.19. Opposing teams are hitting .245 against the Rangers bullpen while walking 188 times and striking out 426 times. Texas is averaging 6.79 strikeouts per game while getting 9.12 hits per nine innings as a team. They rank 24th in baseball in team earned run average at 4.28.

As a team, Texas is batting .256, good for 11th in the league while putting together a .238 average away from home. The Rangers on-base percentage sits at .323, which puts them at 10th in the league and they have a team slugging percentage of .410. Prince Fielder leads the team in hits with 172 while the team ranks 10th in baseball with 8.7 hits per game.

With a 33-43 home record, Oakland will hope to improve on their 64-87 overall mark. Chris Bassitt has a record of 1-6 while sporting an earned run average of 2.82 on the year with a 1.12 WHIP. The Athletics have a record of 3-7 over the 73.1 innings he's pitched during which he's given up 59 hits. The Athletics are also 3-7 against the over/under in his starts. He is getting 2.5 runs from the team when he takes the mound. The bullpen has given up 440 hits on the season and have a team earned run average of 4.55. Opposing teams are hitting .246 against the Athletics bullpen while walking 159 times and striking out 432 times. Oakland is averaging 7.51 strikeouts per game while getting 8.57 hits per nine innings as a team. They rank 18th in the league in team earned run average at 4.02.

As a team, they are batting .252, good for 15th in the league while putting together a .258 average at home. The Athletics on-base percentage sits at .312, which puts them at 22nd in the league and they have a team slugging percentage of .395. Billy Burns leads the team in hits with 141 while the team ranks 9th in baseball with 8.71 hits a game.

In terms of team defense, the Rangers have a fielding percentage of .981 with 110 total errors, 1,557 assists and 4,010 put outs. The Athletics have committed 113 errors on the season with 1,513 assists and 4,034 put outs leading to a team fielding percentage of .980 on the year.

Texas Rangers Betting Trends

The Texas Rangers are 65-76 against the over/under so far this season

The Texas Rangers are 90-60 against the run line so far this season

Oakland Athletics Betting Trends

The Oakland Athletics are 78-64 against the over/under so far this season

The Oakland Athletics are 71-80 against the run line so far this season

Injuries to Watch

Texas Rangers

09/02/15 P Alex Claudio Groin Injury is on the 60 day disabled list (9/1)
08/13/15 1B Kyle Blanks Achilles Injury is on the 60 day disabled list (6/17)
08/02/15 P Tanner Scheppers Knee Injury is on the 15 day disabled list (8/2)
08/01/15 C Robinson Chirinos Shoulder Injury is on the 15 day disabled list (7/31)
05/29/15 P Nick Tepesch Elbow Injury is on the 60 day disabled list (4/7)
04/06/15 P Lisalverto Bonilla Elbow Injury is on the 60 day disabled list (3/31)
04/06/15 P Yu Darvish Elbow Injury is on the 60 day disabled list (4/6), out for season
04/04/15 RF Antoan Richardson Back Injury is on the 60 day disabled list (4/2)
04/04/15 2B Jurickson Profar Shoulder Injury is on the 60 day disabled list (2/24), out for season

Oakland Athletics

09/23/15 P Chris Bassitt Shoulder is upgraded to expected to start Thursday vs. Texas Rangers
09/19/15 C Josh Phegley Concussion out indefinitely
09/16/15 P Jesse Chavez Ribs Injury is on the 60 day disabled list (9/16)
09/03/15 P Evan Scribner Shoulder out for season
09/02/15 P A.J. Griffin Shoulder Injury is on the 60 day disabled list (9/1)
08/25/15 P Kendall Graveman Oblique Injury is on the 60 day disabled list (8/24)
08/19/15 1B Ike Davis Hip Injury is on the 60 day disabled list (8/18)
07/11/15 P Jesse Hahn Elbow Injury is on the 60 day disabled list (7/6)
06/14/15 P Pat Venditte Shoulder Injury is on the 15 day disabled list (6/11)
04/05/15 P Jarrod Parker Elbow Injury is on the 60 day disabled list (3/27)
04/04/15 P Taylor Thompson Shoulder Injury is on the 60 day disabled list (2/26)

Josh's Pick: Take the Rangers

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