Oakland Athletics vs Texas Rangers Prediction, 8/27/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Oakland Athletics vs Texas Rangers

Date: Thursday, August 27, 2020

Location: Globe Life Park in Arlington, TX

TV: FOX

Odds/Point Spread: Athletics (-172) Rangers (+158)

Joey Gallo and the Texas Rangers (11-18, 4th in AL West) host the Oakland Athletics (21-10, 1st in AL West) at Globe Life Park on Thursday. The Athletics open this matchup at -172 while the Rangers are priced at +158. The O/U has been set at 10. The pitchers who are expected to start will be Chris Bassitt and Jordan Lyles.

Key Oakland Athletics Injuries

8/21/2020 Burch Smith RP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Sep 22
8/10/2020 A.J RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 1

Key Texas Rangers Injuries

8/26/2020 Shin-Soo Choo LF Oblique Probable for Aug 26
8/25/2020 Rougned Odor 2B Eye Probable for Aug 26
8/24/2020 Jesse Chavez RP Toe Expected to be out until at least Sep 8
8/23/2020 Nick Goody RP Back Expected to be out until at least Aug 26
8/23/2020 Joe Palumbo RP Abdomen Expected to be out until at least Aug 30
8/23/2020 Brett Martin RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Aug 27
8/20/2020 Elvis Andrus SS Back Expected to be out until at least Sep 1
8/20/2020 Willie Calhoun DH Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Sep 10

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Athletics have a 21-10 overall record this season. Bassitt (16-20 win-loss record in his career) is the owner of a FIP of 4.14 while he has faced 1,586 hitters in the majors. His ERA is 3.76 (154 earned runs allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.279. He has surrendered 339 base knocks (8.3 hits per nine innings) with 132 free passes. Bassitt has taken the ball for 368 innings and has 318 punchouts in his MLB career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 1.92 and they have given up 92 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .179 against the bullpen and they've struck out 132 hitters and walked 42 batters. As a team, Oakland allows 8.2 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.3 batters per nine innings. They are 4th in the league in team earned run average at 3.45. The Athletics pitchers collectively have given up 255 base hits and 108 earned runs. They have allowed 31 home runs this season, ranking them 27th in the league. Oakland as a pitching staff has walked 93 batters and struck out 258. They have walked 3 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.3 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.24 and their FIP as a unit is 3.84.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team Oakland is hitting .226, good for 24th in the league. The Athletics hold a .416 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .326, which is good for 14th in baseball. They rank 23rd in MLB with 7.5 hits per game. Mark Canha is hitting .279 with an on-base percentage of .405. He has 29 hits this season in 104 at bats with 21 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .452 and an OPS+ of 141. Matt Olson is hitting .175 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .309. He has totaled 20 hits and he has driven in 22 men in 114 at bats. His OPS+ is 111 while his slugging percentage is at .456. The Athletics have 231 hits, including 46 doubles and 45 home runs. Oakland has walked 132 times so far this season and they have struck out 311 times as a unit. They have left 206 men on base and have a team OPS of .742. They score 5.03 runs per contest and have scored a total of 156 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

During his MLB career, Lyles has allowed 1,024 base hits while totaling 712 K's in 934 innings pitched. He has surrendered 541 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.448 and a FIP of 4.6. His SO/W ratio is 2.17 and he has gone up against 4,128 opposing batters in his pro baseball career. Lyles (44-63 mark in his career) has a 5.21 earned run average while allowing 9.9 hits per 9 innings. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.95 and they have given up 88 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .183 against the Rangers bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 118 batters and walked 65 opposing hitters. As a team, Texas allows 8.2 hits per nine innings while striking out 9 batters per nine innings. They are 26th in the league in team earned run average at 5.24. The Rangers pitchers as a team have surrendered 231 base knocks and 147 earned runs this season. They have given up 39 home runs this year, which ranks 12th in Major League Baseball. Texas as a staff has walked 120 hitters and struck out 252 batters. They give up a walk 4.3 times per 9 innings while they strike out 9 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.39 while their FIP as a staff is 4.72.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .211, good for 29th in the league. The Rangers hold a .344 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .289, which is good for 29th in baseball. They rank 29th in MLB with 6.9 hits per contest. Joey Gallo comes into this matchup batting .191 with an OBP of .321. He has 18 hits this year along with 16 RBI in 94 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .457 with an OPS+ of 112. Shin-Soo Choo is hitting .211 this season and he has an OBP of .296. He has collected 15 hits in 71 at bats while driving in 10 runs. He has an OPS+ of 82 and a slugging percentage of .366. The Rangers as a unit have 199 base hits, including 45 doubles and 24 homers. Texas has walked 91 times this year and they have struck out on 249 occasions. They have had 184 men left on base and have an OPS of .633. They have scored 3.69 runs per game and totaled 107 runs this season.

Who will win tonight's Athletics/Rangers MLB game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take the Athletics (-172)

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