The Oakland Athletics are taking on the Houston Astros on Thursday afternoon and the game from O.co Coliseum has the AL West teams going at it and has Scott Feldman against Jeff Samardzija on the mound and starts up past 3:35 pm ET for the teams in the American League and the A's are looking to keep things going as the Angels close in on the division lead.
Yoenis Cespedes could be out after injuring his thumb and that is tough for the team, as he is looking to get back on track after slumping a bit. George Springer will be out and that is good news for Oakland, as he has been the real deal since coming up and right now these two teams have opposite records. The Astros are not the worst in the division, as they are up over the Texas Rangers for the time being and this division right now is technically the best in baseball. Three teams are on playoff position for the time being and the Mariners just traded for Kendrys Morales and they did not have to give up much to do it.
The Mariners offense has been a mess and they need some more help, while the A's traded for pitching and now they are trying to hold off the Angels in the division. The Athletics come into the game playing very well on both sides of the field, as their offense has been great and their pitching has also been excellent. The team is ranked first in runs and 15th in batting average and they are also in the top 10 on base percentage and slugging percentage.
The pitching has been even better, as the team is ranked in the top five in nearly every important category. The ERA is ranked third overall in the league and that matches what the Mariners have been able to do, while the team is fourth in quality starts, second in WHIP and also second in batting average. The Athletics have been the best team in baseball this season and they are 62-38 this season and that has been very impressive for Billy Beane.
The team has been leading the AL West all season and now they have to hold off the Angels, as the team wants to avoid playing in the wild card game. The Angels have been playing very well over the past two months and only the Athletics have been better, while the Mariners are right behind those two teams.
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