Oakland Athletics (31-31, third in the AL West) vs. Texas Rangers (32-28, second in the AL West)
Arlington, Texas; Friday, 8 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Athletics: Brett Anderson (6-4, 3.96 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 34 strikeouts) Rangers: Lance Lynn (7-4, 4.50 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 77 strikeouts)
BOTTOM LINE: Oakland hits the road to begin a three game series against Texas.
The Rangers are 17-18 against AL West teams. Texas has slugged .453, good for third in the American League. Hunter Pence leads the club with a .583 slugging percentage, including 23 extra-base hits and 12 home runs.
The Athletics are 13-16 on the road. Oakland has hit 95 home runs this season, eighth in the majors. Matt Chapman leads the team with 16, averaging one every 14.8 at-bats.
TOP PERFORMERS: Pence leads the Rangers with 12 home runs and is batting .288. Ronald Guzman is 8-for-31 with three doubles, two home runs and seven RBIs over the last 10 games for Texas.
Chapman leads the Athletics with 36 RBIs and is batting .267. Ramon Laureano is 12-for-40 with four doubles, three home runs and seven RBIs over the last 10 games for Oakland.
LAST 10 GAMES: Rangers: 7-3, .267 batting average, 4.11 ERA, outscored opponents by 15 runs
Athletics: 4-6, .249 batting average, 5.04 ERA, outscored by one run
Rangers Injuries: Edinson Volquez: 60-day IL (elbow), Yohander Mendez: 60-day IL (elbow), Taylor Hearn: 10-day IL (elbow), Luke Farrell: 60-day IL (jaw), Kyle Dowdy: 10-day IL (elbow), Scott Heineman: 60-day IL (shoulder), Joey Gallo: 10-day IL (oblique), Shin-Soo Choo: day-to-day (hand), Willie Calhoun: 10-day IL (quad), Isiah Kiner-Falefa: day-to-day (finger).
Athletics Injuries: Sean Manaea: 60-day IL (shoulder), Daniel Gossett: 60-day IL (elbow), Marco Estrada: 10-day IL (lumbar strain), Jharel Cotton: 60-day IL (elbow), Brett Anderson: day-to-day (side), Chris Herrmann: 60-day IL (knee).
