Texas travels to Sacramento to take on the A’s for their first four-game series of the year — and this one is important. Both clubs come in tied atop the AL West, and four road games against a division opponent that has reeled off three straight series wins is about as big a test as you’ll find in April.
The Rangers lost the LAD series, dropping the first two in hard-fought fashion before deGrom put on an absolute clinic in Game 3 — 6 IP, 1 ER, 9 strikeouts. One of the things I keep loving about this team is that even in the losses against the Dodgers, they refused to quit. They still had a chance in the ninth inning of both games. If you keep giving yourself chances to win those hard fought come from behind types you eventually will win some.
The A’s are rolling. They knocked off Houston, then the Yankees, and then swept the Mets. Nick Kurtz just went yard for his first of the season to complete that sweep. Hopefully that didn’t just wake the sleeping giant. Sutter Health park has played extremely hitter-friendly, so don’t be shocked if this turns into a run-fest across all four games.
Game 1 · Monday, April 13th · 8:40 PM CST
Luis Severino vs. Nathan Eovaldi
This is a fantastic spot for the Rangers offense. Texas hitters are slashing .320/.386/.627 against Severino — one of the better collective numbers you’ll see in these previews. Jake Burger is 5-16 with 2 doubles and 2 home runs against him, and Brandon Nimmo is 5-10 with 2 doubles and a homer. Those two at the top of the lineup could do some real damage Monday night.
The other side is the concern. A’s hitters are slashing .300/.352/.460 against Eovaldi, although he seemed to have found his footing with his last start against Seattle. Shea Langeliers is 4-12 with 2 doubles and a homer, and Tyler Soderstrom is 2-6 with a pair of doubles. Eovaldi has to keep the ball in the yard and force weak contact. The ballpark is going to make that harder. We need Evo to continue what he showed against Seattle and get this series off on the right foot.
Game 2 · Tuesday, April 14th · 8:40 PM CST
Jeffrey Springs vs. MacKenzie Gore
I’ll be honest — the numbers here are ugly. A’s hitters are slashing .562/.588/.781 against Gore. Jeff McNeil is 8-12 against him. EIGHT FOR TWELVE. Darell Hernaiz is 3-4 with a homer and Nick Kurtz is 2-3 with a double. Now, worth noting — Gore has probably only faced this lineup once, so it’s a small sample. One bad outing can inflate numbers like that. He has to go out and prove that’s what it was.
Texas hitters are hitting .235/.291/.412 against Springs, which isn’t inspiring, but there are spots to exploit. Kyle Higashioka is 3-8 with a double, and Josh Jung is 4-9 with a homer. Jung has been quietly heating up in April after a brutal March — more on that below — and if he keeps it going, he gives this lineup another middle-of-the-order threat they’ve been missing. This is a game where the Rangers need to grind out at-bats and make Springs work.
Game 3 · Wednesday, April 15th · 8:40 PM CST
J.T. Ginn vs. Kumar Rocker
Ginn is more of an opener — he hasn’t gone beyond 4 IP in any of his four outings this season, so expect the A’s bullpen to be heavily involved. No Texas hitter has faced him, which cuts both ways. No familiarity can be an advantage or a mess, and with a guy who isn’t going deep into games, this one may come down to which bullpen holds up later.
The numbers against Rocker are alarming on paper — A’s hitters at .588/.611/.824 — but again, like Gore, this a very small sample size. Jacob Wilson was 3-3 and Tyler Soderstrom 2-3 with a double, a walk, and a home run. Rocker is too talented for those numbers to hold. He needs to go out Wednesday, keep his stuff sharp, and not let a bad sample define the matchup. If he pitches like we know he can, this is winnable.
Game 4 · Thursday, April 16th · 2:05 PM CST
Jacob Lopez vs. Jack Leiter
A nice Thursday afternoon game to close the series. Texas hitters are slashing .200/.407/.350 against Lopez — the average is low but that walk rate is interesting, and Josh Jung is 1-4 with a homer while Josh Smith is 2-4. Patient at-bats against Lopez could open some big innings.
A’s hitters are hitting .275/.370/.525 against Leiter. Soderstrom again shows up — 3-9 with a homer — and Nick Kurtz is 2-3 with a double, a homer, and 2 walks against him. Kurtz is going to be a name throughout this whole series. Leiter has to be smart with him. That said, this feels like a chance for Leiter to go out and lock down a series win on a Thursday afternoon.
Keys to the Series
Eovaldi has to give the Rangers a quality start in Game 1. The Rangers on paper have the best chance against Severino, as long as Evo can hold up his end of the bargain we should take game 1.
Gore needs to flush whatever happened the last time he faced this lineup. Small sample, bad game, move on. His stuff is good enough.
Corey Seager wasn’t mentioned much in these notes, which tells you something — the Rangers are going to need him to be a factor in this series even when his name isn’t the headline.
Josh Jung is the name to watch. He went all of March without a hit across four games, and now in April he’s hitting .381/.435/.381. He’s waking up at the right time. This lineup needs him to keep it going against a good pitching staff.
Keep an eye on the pitch challenge usage. Texas has been one of the most passive teams in the league on that front this year. In a four-game series in a hitter-friendly park with close games likely, being aggressive in the right moments could matter.
Wyatt Langford went down in the Dodger series with what was said to be Quad Tightness, Wyatt came out and said it was minor and he thinks he may only miss a few games. Will be monitoring the situation on this one, hoping this does not turn into something bigger.
Robert Garcia and Chris Martin also on the Monitoring situation front, it is still very early in the year but neither one has given us anything to find hope in.
Who’s Hot
Athletics: Max Muncy (.305/.328/.853)
Shea Langeliers (.293/.328/.586)
Nick Kurtz — just went yard for the first time, hopefully that’s not the start of something dangerous for us.
Rangers:
Brandon Nimmo (.367/.433/.600)
Josh Jung (.381/.435/.381 in April) — quietly finding himself at the plate after a tough spring.
Bullpen Usage via RotoWire
Prediction: Rangers Take 3 of 4
Game 1 sets up beautifully for Texas with the splits against Severino and a Rangers offense that’s been building. Game 2 is the toughest draw — Gore has to answer some questions and Eovaldi’s issues make the margin thin. Game 3 feels like a bullpen game that could go either way, but I like Rocker to bounce back. Game 4 on a Thursday afternoon with Leiter on the mound and the Rangers needing to close it out — circle that one. Take the series 3-1.