Oakland hosts Texas, aims to build on Fiers' strong showing
Texas Rangers (74-80, third in the AL West) vs. Oakland Athletics (93-61, second in the AL West)
Oakland, California; Saturday, 9 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Rangers: Brock Burke (0-1, 5.19 ERA) Athletics: Sean Manaea (2-0, .50 ERA)
BOTTOM LINE: Oakland heads into the matchup after a dominant performance by Mike Fiers. Fiers threw eight innings, giving up zero runs on two hits with five strikeouts against Texas.
The Athletics are 40-28 against the rest of their division. The Oakland pitching staff has a team ERA of 4.02, Mike Fiers paces the staff with a mark of 3.86.
The Rangers are 32-42 in division matchups. Texas has a collective .246 this season, led by Danny Santana with an average of .284. The Athletics won the last meeting 8-0. Fiers earned his 15th victory and Chad Pinder went 2-for-2 with a home run and three RBIs for Oakland. Mike Minor registered his 10th loss for Texas.
TOP PERFORMERS: Marcus Semien leads the Athletics with 88 RBIs and is batting .283. Matt Olson is 10-for-40 with three doubles, six home runs and 13 RBIs over the last 10 games for Oakland.
Elvis Andrus leads the Rangers with 154 hits and is batting .271. Rougned Odor is 7-for-37 with a double, four home runs and seven RBIs over the last 10 games for Texas.
LAST 10 GAMES: Athletics: 9-1, .269 batting average, 3.23 ERA, outscored opponents by 38 runs
Rangers: 3-7, .247 batting average, 6.37 ERA, outscored by 17 runs
Athletics Injuries: Blake Treinen: (back), Daniel Gossett: (elbow), Mike Fiers: (forearm), Stephen Piscotty: (ankle), Luis Barrera: (shoulder).
Rangers Injuries: Nate Jones: (forearm), Taylor Hearn: (elbow), Jesse Chavez: (elbow), Jesse Biddle: (shoulder), Hunter Pence: (back), Joey Gallo: (wrist), Logan Forsythe: (intercostal), Jeff Mathis: (back).
