Texas Rangers vs. Oakland Athletics Prediction: Will Marcus Semien and the Rangers Stay Hot?

Texas Rangers vs. Oakland Athletics Prediction: Will Marcus Semien and the Rangers Stay Hot?

The Athletics and Rangers will proceed with game two of the series tonight from Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, with the first pitch being thrown at 8:05 p.m. EST. The oddsmakers currently have the Rangers at about a -160 price tag depending on your book, with the comeback on the Athletics priced at +145. The Athletics are 1-4 over their last five games and dropped game one of the series 8-10. The Rangers are3-2 over their last five games and are coming off a solid home series win against the Twins. So who is set to win game two tonight?

Rangers vs. Athletics Start Time, Where to Watch, and Odds

• Date: July 12, 2022
• Game Time: 8:05 pm ET
• Where to Watch: MLBN

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Rangers vs. Athletics Line Movement

Texas Rangers vs. Oakland Athletics Prediction

The Rangers jumped out early in game one, leading 5-1 after the fourth inning. The Rangers then tacked on a few more and had a 10-2 lead entering the eighth inning, but then the Athletics made it sweaty by rallying for six runs in the top of the eighth. The Rangers were able to hold on and win 10-8 in the end. Tonight, the Rangers will try to repeat with another win behind starter Glenn Otto.

Otto is 4-5 on the season with a 5.26 ERA. Otto has struggled to find his footing in his second year in the MLB, but he is coming off a solid bounce-back performance against the red-hot Orioles, where he went five innings with one earned run. Otto is either on, or he doesn't have it at all, and there's not much in between. Otto has two standout appearances where he gave up six runs in two innings against the Nationals on June 26th and another start where he gave up eight runs in four innings against the Red Sox on May 14th. Besides these two starts, he has been pretty good for the most part. The team gives him solid run support as well, as, despite his high ERA, the Rangers are 5-6 in his starts.

Otto has an outing against the Athletics already this season, and he pitched five innings on the road with only one earned run. As just about everyone knows, the Athletics are not a good team. The Athletics are dead last in batting average with a .210, and that average drops to .203 against right-handed pitching. Even though Otto has been up-and-down, this is a great spot at home for him to put up another good start against a struggling Athletics team.

Starting for the Athletics today will be James Kaprielian. Kaprielian is 1-5 on the season with a 5.06. Kaprielian is coming off two of his best starts of the year, a six-inning outing against the Mariners with only one earned run and an outing against the Blue Jays with six innings pitched and only one earned run. However, I think this is a sell-high spot on Kaprielian, and his recent performance has brought this line down a little. Earlier in the season, Kaprielian pitched 4.1 innings against the Rangers and allowed four runs for a 9.0 ERA. His most recent start before that against the Rangers was last season when he gave up four runs in 3.2 innings pitched. The Rangers have hit him hard, and I don't see why that should change today.

The Rangers' bats have been very hot, and they are facing a pitcher they have had a lot of success against recently. The Rangers have a .263 batting average, and 6.14 average runs per game over their last five games. The Athletics are one of the worst teams on the road and have the lowest batting average in the league. Even though Otto has a higher ERA than Kaprielian, that doesn't tell the story of this game. I expect the Rangers to stay hot at home and pick up another win.

Texas Rangers vs. Oakland Athletics Pick

• Rangers ML (-157) (Bet $157 to Win $100)

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