Rangers-Athletics prediction: Picks, odds on Monday, August 7

The Texas Rangers (66-46) and Oakland Athletics (32-80) will begin a three-game AL West series this evening. First pitch is scheduled for 9:40 p.m. ET at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland. Dane Dunning (9-4, 3.14 ERA) will get the nod for the Rangers while lefty Ken Waldichuk (2-7, 6.52) will open for the A’s.

Texas is riding a six-game winning streak heading into the East Bay and is coming off a sweep of the Marlins over the weekend. The Rangers hold a 2.5-game lead over the Astros at the top of the AL West standings and will try to maintain that as a new week opens. Meanwhile, Oakland got a brief reprieve from losing over the weekend as it took back-to-back games from cross-bay rival San Francisco.

Texas enters the game as a -225 favorite on the moneyline over at DraftKings Sportsbook, while the A’s are +185 underdogs. The run total is set at 8.5.

Rangers-Athletics picks: Monday, August 7

Injury report

Rangers

Out: SP Nathan Eovaldi (elbow), C Jonah Heim (wrist), DH Brad Miller (hamstring), 3B Josh Jung (thumb)

Athletics

Out: SP James Kaprielian (shoulder), C Carlos Perez (thumb), 1B Ryan Noda (jaw), 2B Tony Kemp (rib)

Starting pitchers

Dane Dunning vs. Ken Waldichuk

Dunning picked up his first win in a month against the White Sox last Wednesday and was borderline untouchable. He K’d 11 batters through 7.2 innings and yielded just one earned run off three hits and a walk. The fourth-year righty has thrived at night during this career season, posting a 6-1 record with a 2.60 ERA under the lights.

Waldichuk has posted middling numbers as an opener for the past month and that was the case again in last Tuesday’s loss to the Dodgers. He struck out five batters in 3.2 innings of work, but was tagged with four earned runs off a hit and three walks in the outing. The lefty has been somewhat comfortable at home compared to on the road, posting a 4.85 ERA at the Oakland Coliseum this year vs. a 7.84 ERA away from it.

Over/Under pick

Texas has continued its torrid pace at the plate over the past week and could very well trigger the over by itself this evening. The Rangers should do the heavy lifting in the runs department tonight with the A’s making some contributions to the total.

Pick: Over 8.5

Moneyline pick

Texas is the easy choice for this matchup as it has the opportunity to add a half gave to its division lead with Houston off this evening. I expect its lineup to clobber Waldichuk and Oakland tonight.