Rangers vs. Athletics Odds & Picks: Back Glenn Otto, Texas to Down Oakland
Abbie Parr/Getty Images. Pictured: Texas Rangers standout Adolis Garcia.
- The Rangers take on the Athletics in an AL West battle.
- Texas snapped a five-game losing streak in its last game vs. Seattle, and hope to continue the winning trend.
- Kenny Ducey breaks down the matchup and offers up his best bet.
Rangers vs. Athletics Odds
| Rangers Odds | -130 |
| Athletics Odds | +110 |
| Over/Under | 7.5 (-114 / -106) |
| Time | 9:40 p.m. ET |
| TV | Apple TV+ |
| Odds via FanDuel. Get up-to-the-minute MLB odds here. | |
The Rangers and Athletics take the field Friday, as the Apple TV+ announcing crew tries to wrap its mind around a pitching matchup between Glenn Otto and Adam Oller.
That said, we will do that very same thing now and take a look at this matchup.
Texas Rangers
What do we know about Otto? Well, not a ton.
We do know Otto will be starting this game for Texas due to an injury to Jon Gray. He made a brief appearance in the show last season, starting six games and pitching to a 9.26 ERA in 23 1/3 innings. His 2022 season is off to a better start at Triple-A, seeing the righty cruise through seven scoreless innings across two starts, allowing just two hits in the process.
Otto, a fifth-round pick of the Yankees in 2017 who was sent over in the Joey Gallo trade, has compiled a 2.92 ERA across all minor-league levels and most impressively owns a 2.65 ERA in eight Triple-A starts. He averaged close to 12 strikeouts per nine in his minor-league career and might possess some upside.
The Rangers' offense has been asleep at the wheel all season, and the team started 2-9 as a result. That's what made Thursday's win so incredible.
The chances of Texas erasing a five-run deficit after the first inning seemed next to impossible, and perhaps it will allow them to think about this game in a more positive light. The team tallied 10 hits and three walks, getting contributions up and down the order.
Oakland Athletics
The Athletics haven't started the season in a pretty manner either, but they did manage to take three of four against Baltimore to ride into this one with a little bit of momentum. Oakland managed six runs Thursday, thanks in large part to the top of the order. Tony Kemp, Sheldon Neuse and Sean Murphy were a combined 8 for 12 at the plate and drove in five of the club's six runs.
Oller will get the ball here, and that hasn't generally been a good thing in 2022. The right-hander has allowed seven runs on 10 hits and six walks across two starts, lasting just 4 2/3 innings in total.
Unlike his counterpart in this one, Oller can't claim a great minor-league career. He has a career 4.05 ERA across all levels, though last season he seemed to figure something out, getting himself to the show thanks to a 2.45 ERA at Triple-A. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear it holds up at this level.
Rangers-Athletics Pick
It seems as if Otto could be a good pitcher. We can't say that with any degree of certainty given the fact that plenty of pitchers — like Adam Oller — fail to translate their success to the big-league level.
That being said, I think Texas is the better team. It has real talent up and down the order, something Oakland can't lay claim to thus far this season.
The Rangers should have no issues getting to Oller given the issues he's had with free passes and contact, and as long as Otto doesn't implode against an offense that got three hits from its 4-9 hitters a day ago, they should win.
Pick: Texas ML (-130)
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