MLB Sports Betting Odds: Texas Rangers visit Oakland Athletics

Thursday, June 07, 2012

Mike Stewart

  Texas Rangers at Oakland Athletics
When: 3:35 PM ET, Thursday, June 7, 2012
Where: O.co Coliseum, Oakland, California
TV: 3:35 p.m. ET, FS Southwest (Texas)

Opening Line: Texas -165
Current Line: Texas -155
MLB Betting Lines from: SBG Global Sportsbook

Just when it looked like the Texas Rangers and baseball’s most potent offense were getting back on track, an old nemesis derailed them. Bartolo Colon improved to 18-6 against the Rangers with eight strong innings in the Athletics’ 2-0 victory on Wednesday. Oakland Athletics will try to make it three out of four against Texas when it hosts the Rangers in the series finale on Thursday. Texas, which was held to one run Monday, broke out for six runs Tuesday as every batter in the lineup had at least one hit. The Rangers, though, have lost five of their last seven games, and scored 18 runs in their last six.

Josh Hamilton is one of the reasons the Rangers’ offense has sputtered. The American League Player of the Month for April and May, who leads the major leagues with 21 homers and 58 RBIs, is 4-for-25 with one RBI in six June games.

Texas’ Yu Darvish is 3-3 with a 4.19 ERA in his last six starts since winning his first four major league decisions, including a 4-1 victory over Oakland on May 16. He will oppose the Athletics’ Brandon McCarthy, who returned from the disabled list with six solid innings and earned the victory in Oakland’s 9-3 win at Kansas City.

PITCHING MATCHUP: Rangers RH Yu Darvish (7-3, 3.34 ERA) vs. Athletics RH Brandon McCarthy (4-3, 2.95)

Darvish allowed three runs in 6 1/3 innings in his last start, a 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Angels on Friday for his third consecutive defeat on the road. He had seven strikeouts against the Angels and has 73 in 67 1/3 innings. Darvish yielded one run and four hits and struck out seven in 7 1/3 innings in his win over the Athletics. Jemile Weeks went 2-for-3 with a double in their first encounter.

McCarthy’s previous outing before going down with a shoulder injury came at Texas on May 17, when he allowed four runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings and didn’t receive a decision in Oakland’s 5-4 victory. McCarthy is 1-4 with a 4.35 ERA in 10 career games (eight starts) against Texas. The Rangers’ roster is hitting .307 against him, with Adrian Beltre (12-for-28, two homers, three doubles, eight RBIs) leading the way. McCarthy is 1-2 with two no-decisions at home.

1. Oakland rookie Yoenis Cespedes went 3-for-3 and fell a homer shy of the cycle in the Athletics’ 2-0 victory Wednesday. He is 9-for-24 with a homer and five RBIs in six games since coming off the DL after recovering from a hand injury.

2. The Rangers have five players leading their positions in American League All-Star balloting: Beltre (third base), Ian Kinsler (second base), Mike Napoli (catcher), Hamilton and Nelson Cruz (outfielders).

3. Oakland placed reliever Andrew Carignan on the 15-day disabled list after he left Tuesday’s game. It appears he is headed for Tommy John surgery.

Recent Trends on Texas::

• TEX are 2-6 in their last 8 overall.
• TEX are 2-6 in their last 8 games on grass.
• Over is 9-4 in TEX last 13 overall.

Recent Trends on Oakland::

• OAK are 3-11 in their last 14 overall.
• OAK are 3-11 in their last 14 games on grass.
• OAK are 2-6 in their last 8 home games.

Head to Head :

• Over is 9-3 in the last 12 meetings in Oakland.
• TEX are 14-5 in the last 19 meetings.

Prediction: Sports Handicappers Consensus Picks for $2 Per Day

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Tags

adrian beltre - andrew carignan - bartolo colon - brandon mccarthy - ian kinsler - jemile weeks - josh hamilton - mike napoli - nelson cruz - o.co coliseum