by Jerry Feitelberg

Well, folks, the A’s have just twelve games left to play this year. They arrive home after a 4-6 road trip to Texas, Chicago, and Houston. The A’s have six games left in Oakland and then end the season on the road. The next three home games will be against the Texas Rangers and the San Francisco Giants. The A’s then go to Anaheim for three and Seattle for three more.

The A’s, while having a dismal season, still can play a spoiler role. While the A’s have a record of 64-86 overall, they are 10-6 against the Rangers. The Rangers are 80-69 and lead the Houston Astros by  a game and 1/2 in the race for the AL West crown while the Astros hold down the second Wild Card slot leading the Angels and Twins by two and 1/2 games. The A’s would love nothing better than to sweep the Rangers and upset their plans. The A’s also play the Angels next week and beating them could possibly keep the Angels out of the playoffs.

The Rangers have overcome a ton of injuries to their pitching staff and have a potential Manager of the Year candidate, Jeff Bannister, running the club. The Rangers did not start the season well but have been playing much better since the return of Derek Holland and the acquisition of lefty hurler, Cole Hamels. Prince Fielder, who missed most of last year due to a neck injury, has been on fire while being used as the designated hitter.

The pitching matchups for Tuesday’s game will be Left Sean Nolin pitching for the A’s against lefty Martin Perez of the Rangers. Nolin has a 3.24 ERA in his three starts with Oakland while Perez is 3-4 with a 5.59ERA in his last seven games.

On Wednesday, Felix Doubront goes for the A’s and the Rangers will counter with righty Colby Lewis. Lewis has a record of 1608. The sixteen wins are the most that Lewis has ever had in a season.

The A’s, under Bob Melvin, always play hard and will not go through the motions. They play to win and the Rangers will have to figure out a way to keep the A’s from beating them. Should be a good three-game series.