The Oakland Athletics (4-16) will be going for the series win when they face the Texas Rangers (12-7) in the final game of their three-game series on Sunday afternoon.
Kyle Muller, 0-1, 7.23 ERA) will get the start for the Athletics. The Rangers will counter with Jacob deGrom, 1-0, 3.48 ERA.
Oakland is 6-4 in its last 10 games against Texas.
**This preview was written before Saturday’s game was played**
The Athletics struggled out of the gates and they have lost all six series they have played so far. They will try to turn things around with another win over the Rangers, which will give them their first series win of the season.
Oakland is averaging 3.50 runs per game. Their .225 batting average is 27th in the league. Their .307 on base percentage is 24th, while their .350 slugging percentage is 26th.
Esteury Ruiz leads the Athletics with a .299 batting average, while Brent Rooker leads the team with four home runs and 11 RBI.
Oakland’s pitching is one of the worst in the league, with the team giving up 7.75 runs per game. Opponents have a .281 batting average against the Athletics, which is 29th in the league. Their 7.53 ERA is 30th, as is their 1.69 WHIP.
In his last start, Muller gave up 13 hits and six runs in four innings, leading to a 10-1 loss to the Cubs. They will need a significantly better effort from him if they want to win this game.