The Oakland Athletics look to grab a second straight win against the division leading Texas Rangers. A win will get them to within a single game of the Rangers. The Angels are also playing right now, which means we could get closer to quite the log jam in the AL West. The Angels and Rangers are currently tied for first, the A’s are two back, and the Mariners are three and a half back.
The A’s will be without Coco Crisp for the third straight game, and the A’s are going with David DeJesus at the top of the lineup. The one noticable change is Andy LaRoche at third base. LaRoche started strong but faded after a couple weeks. He’s been on the bench for nine days and hasn’t take a swing in ten.
The A’s will send out Brett Anderson to face Colby Lewis. Anderson is only 2-1 but he’s been Oakland’s best pitcher through the first month of the season. On the other side of things, Lewis is struggling through the first month of the season, sitting at 1-3 with a 6.95 ERA.
Oakland Athletics
1. David DeJesus (L) CF
2. Daric Barton (L) 1B
3. Conor Jackson® RF
4. Josh Willingham® LF
5. Hideki Matsui (L) DH
6. Kurt Suzuki® C
7. Mark Ellis® 2B
8. Andy LaRoche® 3B
9. Cliff Pennington (S) SS
Texas Rangers
1. Ian Kinsler® 2B
2. Elvis Andrus® SS
3. Michael Young® 1B
4. Adrian Beltre® 3B
5. Nelson Cruz® LF
6. Mike Napoli® DH
7. David Murphy (L) CF
8. Yorvit Torrealba® C
9. Mitch Moreland (L) RF