Two of the also-rans in the AL West Division will do battle in Texas to start the week as the last-place Oakland A's visit the sub .500 Rangers. The A's have lost eight straight games and come off a weekend sweep in Houston. The Rangers, meanwhile, took two of three from the Mariners over the weekend and are 5-5 in their last ten games. On the mound in Monday night's series opener will be left-hander JP Spears (3-0,2.30) of the A's while the Rangers with their injury-depleted starting staff have yet to name a starting pitcher. First pitch is scheduled for 8:10pm EST.
The Oakland A's roll into Texas to take on the Rangers in a three-game series to begin the week. The A's are in last place in the AL West but have been a respectable 9-13 since the all-star break heading into Monday night's game with Texas. While it is a losing record, the A's have endured the loss of yet another starting pitcher after trading away Frankie Montas to the Yankees at the deadline, so the effort is still there for this scrappy Oakland club. On Monday night in Texas, despite strong pitching, the Oakland A's fell 2-1 to the Rangers. The A's bats were shut down by Texas pitching in losing their 9th straight game.
FINAL: OAK 3 | HOU 6 pic.twitter.com/1Z6I7E8PfL
— Oakland A's (@Athletics) August 14, 2022
The A's have struggled all season at the plate and that trend has continued through the second half of the season. Since the all-star break, Oakland is hitting just .233 as a team and averaging 3.7 runs per game. The 3.7 runs per game is actually slightly above their season average of 3.4 runs per contest. On the mound on Tuesday, hoping for more support, will be left-hander JP Spears who was acquired in the Frankie Montas deal from the Yankees. The lefty is 3-0 on the season but will be making just his fourth start overall, and second with the A's. In his first start, Spears went 5.1 innings and allowed just three hits and two runs to the Angels. In two starts with New York, Spears went 10.2 innings an allowed just five hits overall and no runs.