Oakland Athletics’ Boog Powell, center, slides to score beneath Texas Rangers catcher Robinson Chirinos, right, in the eighth inning of a baseball game Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Oakland, Calif. Powell scored on a single by teammate Marcus Semien. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND- The Oakland A’s start the final homestand of the season as they play three games against the Texas Rangers and three with the Seattle Mariners. The A’s finish the season on the road as they will meet the Rangers again for four games in Arlington.

The A’s finished the nine-game to Boston, Philadelphia, and Detroit with a record of 6-3. The young players have been sparking the offense, and they are building confidence that this team will be competitive next season. The front office will have to strengthen the starting rotation and the bullpen if the A’s are going to make it back to the playoffs. The fans can see the improvement as players such as Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, Chad Pinder, Boog Powell, Bruce Maxwell all have made contributions to the offense since they were called up from Nashville. Khris Davis, Jed Lowrie, and Matt Joyce, all veterans, have played well. Davis and Joyce are under contract for next season.Lowrie is not, and he may be with another team come spring.

The young A’s will be squaring off against the Texas Rangers starting Friday night. The Rangers are still alive in the chase for the second Wild Card spot in the American League. Entering play tonight, the Rangers were just 2 1/2 games behind the Minnesota Twins. Their chances are slim, but the A’s would love nothing better than to help eliminate them from contention. The Rangers are a veteran team. They do not hit for average, but they have several players that can knock the ball out of the park. They are led by Adrian Beltre. The veteran third baseman was on the DL for part of the season. He reached the 3000 hit plateau earlier this season, and he is a sure bet for baseball’s Hall of Fame. Shortstop Elvis Andrus is having a good year. He is hitting .301 and has 41 doubles and 20 homers on his stat sheet. Mike Napoli, Joey Gallo, and Rougned Odor are not hitting for average, but they have hit 29, 38, and 30 home runs respectively. Gallo and Odor are just 23-years old. The outfield will be manned by Nomar Mazara, Delino DeShields, Shin-soo Choo, and if he is able to play, Carlos Gomez.

Kendall Graveman will go for Oakland Friday night. Graveman is 2-0 with an ERA of 2.61 and a WHIP of just 1.07 in his last three starts against the Rangers. Nick Martinez will pitch for Texas. Martinez is 0-1 with an ERA of 4.15 in his two starts against the A’s. Saturday’s game will feature the Rangers’ Nick Martinez going against leftSean Manaea. Gonzalez is 8-11 but has won only once after coming over from the White Sox. This will be his first start against Oakland. Manaea is 11-10 but had a rough road trip. He was bombed in Boston but got the win in Philly. In his last two starts in Oakland, Manaea has allowed just two runs in 11 innings of work. Lefty Martin Perez pitches for Texas on Sunday, but the A’s have not announced their starter as of Thursday.

This weekend will be Fan Appreciation Weekend at the Coliseum. Friday night is the annual Filipino Heritage night. There will be a Star Wars themed fireworks display after the game. Sunday’s game will be Hispanic Heritage Day. Lots a giveaways as a thank you to the fans that have been so loyal supporting this club this year.