MLB Betting: A’s look for Texas-sized sweep

The Rangers hope to have outfielder Nelson Cruz back after this series.

The Oakland Athletics' last-gasp shot at the AL West crown starts Friday night at the Texas Rangers.

The Athletics (63-62) are 6-2 in their last eight games and are going for a sweep at Cleveland on Thursday night. They still trail Texas by 8 ½-games in the division, so a weekend sweep is almost a necessity.

Oakland’s 3.48 ERA leads the AL this season. That’s due to a 2.58 mark in the second half, a full run higher than its nearest competitor (Minnesota 3.62).

The Athletics’ bats are ranked 11th in the AL this year (4.04 runs per game). The offense has been really bad in August at 3.27 runs per game (ranked 13th). The ‘under’ is 20-6-1 in the last 27 games. The ‘under’ is 15-1 in the last 16 opening games of a series.

The Rangers (72-54) went through a minor slump in mid-August (going 4-9), but have rebounded nicely. They’ve taken the first three games of this homestand over a tough Minnesota team. Strangely, their 42-23 home record translates into minus 0.2 units.

Tommy Hunter (10-2, 3.68 ERA) is seeing his numbers go in the wrong direction after starting 8-0 with a 2.31 ERA. His ERA is 7.33 over the last five games and he didn’t make it past the third inning in three of them. Once was due to a stomach bug.

The 24-year-old righty did pitch well at Baltimore last Sunday, three earned runs over eight innings in a 6-4 win. Hunter has quality starts in seven of his eight home outings. Texas has gone 7-1 and is 13-3 overall in his last 16 home starts.

Hunter is facing the Athletics for the first time this year. He made three starts against them last year and was 2-0 despite a lofty 6.00 ERA. Only one of those games was at home (three earned runs over 5 1/3 innings).

Brett Anderson (3-4, 2.86 ERA) will be the opposing pitcher. He had a lot of promise for this season after going 11-11 with a 4.06 ERA as a 21-year-old rookie last year.

The left-hander made six starts (2.35 ERA) before missing almost two months with an elbow injury. He’s made five starts since coming back, struggling in the first at the White Sox (five earned runs in 5 1/3 innings), but pitching well in the last four (2.33 ERA).

Oakland is 1-4 in Anderson’s last five starts, scoring just two runs per game. The MLB odds ‘under’ is 4-1 in those outings and 7-3-1 on the year.

Anderson is facing the Rangers for the first time this year, He started four times against them last year (1-1, 4.03 ERA). He had a 7.00 ERA in the two starts in Texas.

These teams have split 12 meetings this year, with the ‘under’ going 5-1-1 in the last seven. Texas is 4-2 in the home contests, with five of the games decided by three runs or less.

Texas is still missing outfielder Nelson Cruz (hamstring) and second baseman Ian Kinsler (groin). The offense will be much more potent when they return.

Oakland has a whopping 10 players on the DL, but it continues to plug in guys from the organization with decent success.

First pitch on Friday night is 5:05 p.m. (PT). Weather should be clear and around 90 degrees.