Rangers vs. A’s Expert Pick

Texas Rangers vs. Oakland Athletics
Date: Friday, May 12th, 9:40 ET
Location: Oakland Coliseum
TV: NSPCA
Money Line: Rangers -188/Athletics +157
Total Line: 8.5

Betting Preview

Here’s our betting preview for the upcoming MLB clash between the Oakland Athletics and the Rangers on Friday, May 12th at Oakland Coliseum. We provide you with a comprehensive analysis, odds, and predictions to help with your handicapping decision or tail our expert based on the projected lineups and listed starting pitchers.

Betting Odds

Rangers vs. Athletics Projected Lineup

	Batting Order	Position
Marcus Semien	1	2B
Robbie Grossman	2	LF
Nathaniel Lowe	3	1B
Adolis García	4	RF
Josh Jung	5	3B
Jonah Heim	6	C
Ezequiel Duran	7	2B
Leody Taveras	8	CF
Bubba Thompson	9	LF
Martín Pérez	–	SP




	Batting Order	Position
Esteury Ruiz	1	LF
Jordan Diaz	2	3B
Brent Rooker	3	LF
Jesús Aguilar	4	1B
Carlos Pérez	5	C
Ramón Laureano	6	CF
Shea Langeliers	7	C
Kevin Smith	8	3B
Nick Allen	9	SS
Ken Waldichuk	–	SP




Straight Up/Over-Under/ Runline Record

Texas Rangers: 23-14 SU / OU 21-14 / Runline 23-14
Oakland Athletics: 8-31 SU / OU 25-13 / Runline 15-24

The Rangers take on the Athletics in the middle of a two game winning streak and are leading the AL West on an overall record of 23-14. So far, they are 11-8 on the road and 12-6 at home. Texas’ overall series record stands at 8-3.

• The Rangers have covered the runline in two straight games and have a season-long run margin of 2.3.
• The Rangers have been favored in 54.1% of their games and have runline records of 11-7 and 12-7 at home and on the road, respectively
• The over has hit in 60% of the Rangers’ 37 games at 21-14.

If the Athletics are going to climb out of last place in the AL West, they will need to turn things around with a win over the Rangers. Heading into the game, the Athletics have lost five straight games and stand with an overall record of 8-31. On the road, the Athletics are 5-15 and 3-16 at home. The team’s overall series record is 1-11.

• The Athletics have five straight losses vs. the runline and have a season-long run margin of -3.7.
• The Athletics have been favored in 2.6% of their games and have runline records of 8-11 and 7-13 at home and on the road, respectively
• The over has hit in 66% of the Athletics’ 39 games at 25-13.

Pitching Matchup




Martín Pérez heads into the game with an overall record of 4-1 and an ERA of 3.86. In his five appearances on the road, he has an ERA of 5.83 and record of 2-1. At home, he has put together a mark of 2-0 and ERA of 1.54. His season-long WHIP stands at 1.55, accompanied by a batting average allowed of .311. Teams facing him have amassed a slugging percentage of .446.

In his last appearance against the Angels, Martín Pérez gave up seven runs on eight hits while pitching 3 2/3 innings. Despite not factoring into the decision, Pérez helped the Rangers secure a 16-8 victory.




Oakland starter Ken Waldichuk enters with an overall record of 1-2 and ERA of 7.25. His ERA on the road is 1.98 and 4.76 when pitching at home. Waldichuk’s season-long WHIP comes in at 1.75 with a batting average allowed of .308. Opposing teams have put together a slugging percentage of .616 against him.

In Ken Waldichuk’s previous game, he allowed four runs and six hits against the Royals. Waldichuk added a win to his resume as the Athletics won by a score of 5-4.

Rangers vs. Athletics Offense Outlook

The Rangers have hit 48 home runs this season, making them one of the top home run hitting teams in baseball (8th). In addition to their impressive home run stats, they are averaging 6.2 runs per game and have a collective batting average of .264. At home, their slugging percentage is .470, compared to .386 on the road.

Texas Rangers Top Bats




Texas Rangers Top Hitters: Last Five Games




This season, Oakland is 27th in the league in terms of runs scored, averaging 3.8 runs per game. Their home run count is currently around the league average, with 43 long balls hit. The team’s current batting average of .230 is 26th in the league, while their away batting average is ranked 13th compared to 30th at home.

Oakland Athletics Team Hitting Stats




Oakland Athletics Top Hitters: Last Five Games




Free MLB Pick

For whatever reason, Martin Perez has struggled while pitching at the Oakland Coliseum. Maybe it’s the tens of fans that spook him? A’s starter Waldichuk has good stuff and will likely have a bright future, but has yet to adjust to Major League hitters and is likely to get beat up Friday night. I think this game hits double-digit runs fairly easily.