Series Preview: Oakland Athletics (22-24) @ Texas Rangers (23-23)
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Business First: At long last, Ian Kinsler is returning. The Rangers official website announced yesterday that Kinsler would be reactivated on Thursday for the four-game series against the Oakland Athletics.The website did not make any indication, however, about what roster change will be made to make room for Kinsler. Before he dislocated his thumb on April 11, Kinsler was batting .476 with the Rangers. He got off to a slow start with his rehab at AAA Oklahoma, but Kinsler is now 8 for his last 18, with two doubles and two homeruns.
The Lowdown: Despite their recent slide, the Texas Rangers have managed to maintain their lead in the A.L. West, as the A’s have also fallen on some hard times. With that, this series features the weakest division leader in major league baseball against the weakest second place team in major league baseball. The Rangers are .500, at 23-23, and have lost four out of their last six. The A’s have lost five in a row, but don’t let that fool you. They have shown themselves to be streaky this year. Before losing five in a row, they won five in a row, and lost four in a row before that. So, this losing streak may only mean that they are due for a five game winning streak. On the season, these teams are 3-3 against each other.
Players to Watch:
Huston Street - The reigning A.L. Rookie of the Year has had his share of struggles early this year, particularly against Texas. He has a 4.91 ERA, due in large part to his outings against the Rangers - 2.1 innings pitched, 5 earned runs, 7 hits, 1 homerun, 1 walk. But, he does have a 3.00 ERA in the month of May, has converted seven out of nine save opportunities, and has 13 strikeouts and just two walks in 14.2 innings pitched. Even though he has struggled this year against the Rangers, you’d better believe the young Texan will get up for playing in his home state. But then, considering the way that Texas handled the solid bullpen of the Angels, Huston could have more rocky roads ahead of him.
Frank Thomas - There are a number of Athletics with bad offensive stats on the year that have great stats against Texas. Milton Bradley is hitting .246 on the season, but is .294 against Texas. Dan Johnson is batting .179 on the season, but is also .294 against Texas. Thomas really stands out in that group, though. He is batting .197 on the season, but is hitting .292 against Texas. Three out of his nine homeruns are against Texas, and he also has four RBIs. At least one of those guys is going to rock Texas in this series, and I have a feeling it will be Thomas yet again.
Hank Blalock - Yes, the watch is still on for Hank Blalock. He is coming off a series in which he went 5-for-13 (.385). He had four doubles in three games, but scored only one run and had only two RBIs. He is due for a homerun, as he has now gone seven games without hitting a long ball. This season, Blalock is batting .318 against Oakland with four runs, three RBIs, one homerun and four walks.
Michael Young - He is having a great season as it is, but his .440 batting average against the A’s is particularly hot. Despite that batting average, he is still looking for his first homerun and his first RBI against the A’s on the season. With a .500 on-base percentage, though, something good is bound to happen eventually.
Kevin Mench - Old Shrek Mench has been on a bit of a slide lately, with just one hit in his last 11 at-bats. He is still hitting a very respectable .296, but his batting average on hte month is just .250. This series may be just the thing he needs to reignite his bat. Last time the Rangers played the A’s, Mench had just gotten into his hot stretch when he hit homeruns in seven consecutive games. Against the A’s this year, Mench is batting .467 with three homeruns, eight RBIs and a 1.067 slugging percentage.
Probables:
Thursday, May 25, 7:05 CST
TEX: RHP Kevin Millwood (5-3, 4.26)
OAK: LHP Brad Halsey (1-2, 3.15)
We have another native Texan here in Halsey, who is originally from Houston. Halsey recently made the move from bullpen to starter. In four starts since making the move, Halsey is 1-2 with a 4.15 ERA. It’s a stark contrast from the 1.42 ERA he had as a reliever. Halsey is, however, coming off a solid no-decision start against San Francisco in which he allowed two earned runs in 6.1 innings pitched. He has had a real problem with walks since becoming a starter, too. After allowing just two walks as a reliever in the month of April, Halsey has allowed 12 walks in just four starts. Fortunately for him, having problems with walks is rarely a weakness that Texas manages to talk advantage of. Halsey also has the benefit of going against Millwood, who has been dreadful in Arlington this year. At home, he is 1-3 with a 6.84 ERA. He also has just 13 strikeouts in 26.1 innings, and has recorded all of his 10 walks at home. He is coming off consecutive wins, however, pitching seven innings of two-run baseball against New York, and seven shutout innings against Houston.
Friday, May 26, 7:05 CST
TEX: LHP John Koronka (4-2, 4.25)
OAK: RHP Joe Blanton (4-5, 6.24)
Koronka comes into this game looking for his first start since May 8. Unlike Millwood, Koronka has good numbers at home. He is 2-1 with a 3.58 ERA. He has allowed four of his five homeruns in Arlington, but he has managed to prevent those from hurting him too much by keeping down his walks. Of his 18 walks this season, just three have been at home. He is also averaging a full inning and a half more per start at home than he is on the road. He goes against Blanton, who has struggled this year after a very promising rookie season last year. One of Blanton’s few good starts, however has come against Texas in Texas. On April 24, he picked up a win against the Rangers, going six inning and allowing two earned runs.
Saturday, May 27, 7:05 CST
TEX: RHP Kameron Loe (3-4, 4.29)
OAK: LHP Barry Zito (3-3, 3.10)
Funny that what is really the marquis matchup of this series isn’t going to be the one televised by ESPN on Sunday night baseball. Zito really should have a better record than he does, considering his ERA. Twice this year, he has failed to record a decision despite pitching seven innings and allowing one run. Twice that has led to a no-decision for him. He also has one no decision (in his last start) after pitching six innings of one-run ball, and one loss in a game where he allowed just one run in six innings. He is definitely the work horse of the rotation, but is prone to running up his pitch count. He has thrown more than 100 pitches in all of his starts this year except his first, and has allowed four walks or more in five of his starts this year. But, as with Halsey, we know that the tendency to allow walks isn’t always such a glaring weakness against Texas. He did lose his last start against the Rangers, though, allowing five earned runs in seven innings pitched. As for Texas, Loe is beginning to give Rangers fans reasons to be excited about him again. He is coming off a win against the Angels, going seven innings and allowing just two runs. And he has been amazing against the A’s in two starts this year. In two starts, Loe is 1-0 and has allowed just four runs (three earned) in 13 innings (a 2.77 ERA)
Sunday, May 28, 7:05 CST
TEX: RHP Vicente Padilla (4-3, 4.58)
OAK: RHP Kirk Saarloos (2-2, 5.66)
Maybe this is the game ESPN really wanted. We know how they love the long ball. Both pitchers are coming off pretty bad starts. Saarloos allowed six earned runs in 4.1 innings in his last start against the Chicago White Sox, and Padilla allowed four earned runs in five innings against the Angels. In two starts on the road, Saarloos has an ERA of 11.61, and has allowed six homeruns in just 11.1 innings. Padilla has been marginally worse at home. Oddly enough, he has allowed fewer homeruns in Arlington, but his walks at home outnumber his walks on the road 17-9. At home this year, he is 2-2 with a 4.73 ERA. The Rangers also don’t seem to play defense for him at home, as all of his runs on the road are earned, but four of his runs at home are unearned. But I digress. I hope ESPN is happy with the barrage of homeruns that I’m sure we’ll see in this game. It should be a fun one.
Source
Date
Thu 05/25/06, 12:24 am EST
