Angels And A’s Get Ready For One Last Battle Of The Season
The A’s are not in the position they thought they would be at the end of the season. Instead of sitting atop the AL West and having a secured playoff position, they are fighting for a Wild Card spot and sitting in second place.
The Angels have rand away with the AL West title and have the best win-loss record in the MLB. The Angels still have a lot to play for. They want to secure homefield advantage.
The A’s, on the other hand, are clinging to the chance at a playoff run. Any loss could bring them one step closer to missing a Wild Card spot.
Only seven games remain. The A’s lead the Kansas City Royals by only .5 games and lead the Seattle Mariners by two games in the race to get a Wild Card spot.
Jeff Smardzija will take the ball for Oakland. The A’s only acquired Samardzija in July, but he has adjusted to his new surroundings well.
Samardzija is doing his part to bring his team to the post season. In his last outing he threw eight innings without allowing the Texas Rangers to score. He did not walk away with the win, as the bullpen allowed the game to get away in the ninth. He had 10 strikeouts in the game. Samardzija has now pitched 16 straight scoreless innings.
Samardzija has an overall ERA of 3.13 and have a 1.66 ERA in his last five starts. He is 4-5, though in win-losses. If the A’s are going to make a playoff run, their offense is going to have to step up and give Samardzja some run support.
Samardzija is familiar with the Angels. Back in August he took a loss to the team but pitched well. He went eight innings and only give up two runs, only one of which is earned.
The Angels are 2.5 games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles for the best record in the American League.
They will start CJ Wilson tonight. Wilson had his best start in the last half of baseball in his last outing. He allowed only one hit and held the Mariners scoreless.
Back in August, he had three earned runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. Wilson has a 4.32 ERA overall with a 13-9 win-loss record.
The Athletics have a -139 moneyline and are the favorites to win this game. To bet on the Angels the moneyline is set at +129. The game starts at 10:05 p.m. ET.
