At the Oakland Coliseum on Sunday, an MLB baseball game will take place between the Texas Rangers and the Oakland Athletics. The A’s were successful in winning 5-4 on Friday.
The Rangers offence has been solid overall this season, averaging 4.54 runs per game, good for 12th in the league. They have been injured far too often this season by unreliable pitching, while having a formidable offence. The top player for the Rangers has been Adolis Garcia, who has hit 16 home runs and collected 55 RBIs.
The A’s, who had a 34-62 overall record entering Saturday’s game, are on the opposing side of this duel. Although the A’s pitching hasn’t been great, the offence has struggled to score runs for the majority of the season. The A’s are only scoring 3.31 runs per game on average, which ranks them 29th in the league. As the season progresses, the offence could get much worse because the A’s will likely be sellers once again.
Martin Perez, who is now pitching for the Rangers, has a 7-2 record and a 2.68 ERA. Perez lasted five innings against the Seattle Mariners in his previous start, allowing three hits and one run.
Paul Blackburn, who is now pitching for the A’s, has a 6-5 record with a 3.62 ERA. Blackburn gave up three hits and five runs over six innings in his last start, which was against the Texas Rangers.
In Blackburn’s last five starts, the A’s had a 0-5 record. In Perez’s previous eight road starts, the Rangers are 8-0. In Perez’s previous four starts overall, the over is 4-0. In Perez’s previous four starts with nine days or more of rest, the under is 3-0-1.
This is one of those rare situations where a bet is solely based on trends. Perez’s last eight road starts for the Rangers have been in victories, while Blackburn’s last five starts for the A’s have ended in defeats. The A’s bats will be frigid against Perez, who has an ERA of 2.68 right now.
Free Pick: Oakland Athletics
