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The Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics square off on Sunday with first pitch set for 4:07 p.m. ET. The game takes place at RingCentral Coliseum in Oakland and will only be available on local TV or through an MLB.tv subscription. Martín Pérez (7-2, 2.68 ERA) will start for the Rangers and the Athletics will counter with Paul Blackburn (6-5, 3.62 ERA).
Texas (42-51) just might be allergic to playing at the Oakland Coliseum as it stares at a 0-2 series deficit against the A’s. The Rangers have lost six of their last seven and are in between two paths where they could vie for a potential wild card spot, while also prepping their roster for 2023. The Rangers’ offense failed to put up anything in Saturday’s loss, while the A’s capitalized on two errors for two of their runs.
Oakland (35-62) now holds a three-game winning streak after going up 2-0 in its series with the Rangers. The A’s have also won four of their last five, adding to the win column while also seeing the value of potential trade assets increasing as the deadline nears on August 2. James Kaprielian threw five shutout innings and struck out four batters to lead the A’s to a 3-1 win on Saturday.
Rangers vs. Athletics
Pitchers: Martín Pérez vs. Paul Blackburn
First pitch: 4:07 p.m. ET
Rangers local broadcast: Bally Sports Southwest
Athletics local broadcast: NBC Sports California
Live stream: MLB.tv (subscription)
Odds, picks & predictions
Run Line: Rangers -1.5 (+125)
Run total: 7
Moneyline odds: Rangers -135, Athletics +115
Moneyline pick: Rangers -135
Oakland has its All-Star Blackburn on the hill for Sunday but he made his case for the midsummer classic by way of production on the road. Blackburn is just 1-4 at home with a 6.75 ERA. I like the Rangers avoiding the sweep on Sunday.
Player prop pick: Martín Pérez over 4.5 strikeouts (-150)
The A’s are just 4-17 in their last 21 home games versus southpaw starters, and two of their three runs in Saturday’s win came by way of defensive errors. I’m betting on Pérez hitting the over in strikeouts against an Oakland lineup that is last in batting average.
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