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A’s/Rangers preview
By Jerry Feitelberg April 28, 2011 |
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The A’s open a seven game home stand Friday night. They have a four game set with the Texas Rangers and then three games with the surprising Cleveland Indians. The Rangers have a 3 1/2 game lead over the A’s as they lead the Western division with a record of 15-9 not including Thursday’s game with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Rangers have a potent offense. Their best player, Josh Hamilton, is on the DL with an arm injury and is expected back in late May. Ian Kinsler, Adrian Beltre, Nelson Cruz has picked up the slack. Beltre is leading the club with 7 home runs so far and Nelson Cruz is right behind with 6. Michael Young, the DH, is hitting .347 and has an obs of .363. Mitch Moreland, Elvis Andrus, David Murphy, Julio Borbon all contribute to the Ranger attack. Mike Napoli and former Giant, Yorvit Torrealba head up the catching chores. The pitching staff is lead by C.J. Wilson who has a record of 3-1 with an ERA of 3.51. Matt Harrison is 3-2 with a 3.69 ERA Derek Holland, Colby Lewis and Alexi Ogando round out the rotation. The bullpen is a little shaky as their closer, Neftali Perez, is on the DL but is expected to return on May 6th. The Rangers won their first American League pennant last year. They beat The Tampa Bay rays and the New York Yankees to get to their first World Series. The San Francisco Giants beat the in the Series but the Rangers have tasted success and will be formidable in the American League West this year as they try to repeat. |
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