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Series Preview: Texas Rangers @ Oakland Athletics - Laborious

The Rangers travel to Oakland for a critical three game series against the A's with the AL West division lead on the line

By ghostofErikThompson
A Josh Donaldson lost in the high Oakland sky
A Josh Donaldson lost in the high Oakland sky
Ezra Shaw

Series Schedule:

Monday, September 2 3:05: RHP Dan Straily vs. LHP Derek Holland

Tuesday, September 3 9:05: RHP Bartolo Colon vs. LHP Martin Perez

Wednesday, September 4 2:35: RHP Jarrod Parker vs. RHP Yu Darvish

No words

Only dreams now

Here are all of the possible outcomes we could be facing come Wednesday evening:

  • Rangers sweep - The Rangers lead the A's in the AL West by 4 games
  • Rangers win 2 of 3 - The Rangers lead the A's in the AL West by 2 games
  • A's win 2 of 3 - The Rangers and A's are tied in the AL West with 23 games remaining
  • A's sweep - The Rangers trail the A's in the AL West by 2 games

Here's a breakdown of the pitching match-ups against, in the words of the Queen, those "Shit ass A's":

  • Derek Holland: 9-6, 8.35 K/9, 2.80 BB/9, .304 BABIP, 77.4% LOB, 3.14 FIP, 3.56 xFIP, 4.7 WAR - Last three appearancess: 5 runs allowed in 19.0 innings
  • Dan Straily: 7-7, 7.21 K/9, 3.24 BB/9, .281 BABIP, 70.1% LOB, 4.25 FIP, 4.46 xFIP, 1.1 WAR - Last three starts: 10 runs allowed in 15.0 innings

Advantage: (In the first thing that pops into my head when I think of the pitcher)

Derek Holland:

Goofy goes guh-hyuk, guh-hyuk, guh-hyuk!

Dan Straily:

Her?

  • Martin Perez: 8-3, 5.93 K/9, 2.66 BB/9, .279 BABIP, 75.6% LOB, 4.29 FIP, 4.00 xFIP, 1.1 WAR - Last three starts: 9 runs allowed in 20.0 innings
  • Bartolo Colon: 14-5, 4.74 K/9, 1.41 BB/9, .294 BABIP, 78.5% LOB, 3.35 FIP, 4.14 xFIP, 3.0 WAR - Last three starts: 11 runs allowed in 11.2 innings

Advantage:

Bartolo Colon:

Chet from Weird Science

Martin Perez:

Jaime Lannister

  • Yu Darvish: 12-6, 12.16 K/9, 3.09 BB/9, .260 BABIP, 84.3% LOB, 3.10 FIP, 2.63 xFIP, 4.6 WAR - Last three starts: 8 runs allowed in 21.0 innings
  • Jarrod Parker: 10-6, 6.23 K/9, 3.01 BB/9, .256 BABIP, 75.4% LOB, 4.22 FIP, 4.42 xFIP, 1.4 WAR - Last three starts: 5 runs allowed in 24.0 innings

Advantage:

Yu Darvish:


Jarrod Parker:

Mrapbwt_medium

09ri6gr_medium

Oakland Athletics (78-58, 2nd Place in AL West)

Rangers' Record vs. Oakland: 8-5 (4-2 at O.co Field)

Oakland's Recent Results: 3-0 home sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays

Oakland's 2013 Home Record: 42-25

O.co Coliseum Park Factors (LHB/RHB): HR: 70/91 - Runs: 85/96

SB Nation Athletics Blog: Athletics Nation

Match-up: (as of 09/02) Rangers A's Advantage
Batting (RAR) -12.8 (12th) 16.3 (9th) And it seemed like the Ranger bats were making strides
Base Running (RAR) -6.3 (21st) 4.7 (11th) No surprise here
Starters (RAR) 93.7 52.5 The Rangers are bring their best to Oakland
Bullpen (RAR) 57.3 (1st) 39.9 (7th) Balfour has been vulnerable
Defense (UZR) 25.3 (6th) 10.5 (14th) Where have you gone, Jemile Weeks?
Overall (UZR + RAR) 157.2 123.9

The A's are an all-around solid team; the Rangers have Yu Darvish and Derek Holland

Questions to Answer:

  • True or False: You will spend today reflecting on and honoring America's working class?
  • Who is your Return of the McLemore Approved Player to Watch in this series? (Derek Holland gets the Rangers off on the right foot with a great outing today.)
  • Over/Under: 3.5 hits by whomever the designated hitter is in this series for the Rangers?
  • What's your guess for line (IP/H/K/BB/ER) by Yu Darvish on Wednesday afternoon as he tries to put the toughness talk behind him?
  • Yea or Nay: The Rangers win another series against Oakland and retain the American League West lead?