A’s vs. Rangers game thread

So begins the final series at the Coliseum for the Green & Gold

Well folks, it’s finally here. The series all of us have been dreading all season long. The final three games at the Coliseum. It’s the end of an era but let’s all try to celebrate and remember the good times for the next few days. There will be plenty of time to grieve. For now, we turn our attention to the Texas Rangers, the reigning World Series champions who have fallen flat the year after. No spoiler role for the A’s to play in this series, and the Athletics can’t pass the Rangers for third place in the AL West standings, but they could still get passed by the Angels and end up in last place in the division, and 70 wins is also still within reach.

The club kicks things off against the Texas Rangers on what is expected to be a warm evening at the Coliseum. Right-hander Mitch Spence will get the ball to start tonight’s contest in what could be his final start of the year. If the A’s elect to keep him on schedule he would start Sunday’s season finale but we’ll see how the club approaches those final few games. Spence’s rookie season has been an overall success, posting a solid 4.30 ERA over 22 starts in his first action as a major league starting pitcher. He won’t have the Rule 5 status protecting him from a potential demotion next season but if he pitches like this year and even takes a step forward that won’t even be a possibility. Spence is looking to continue his strong finish to the season; he’s thrown 12 innings over his past two starts while allowing just a pair of runs in each outing.

Here is how the Athletics will line up for their third-to-last game at the Oakland Coliseum:

Righty opponent so the lefty bats get the start in this one. That doesn’t affect the top half of the lineup but affects the bottom half with a couple swaps. Tyler Soderstrom will be manning first base tonight while Seth Brown will handle left field duties in this one. But we also got a new yet familiar face in Darell Hernaiz manning the hot corner and in the starting lineup after only being recalled just a few hours ago.

The bats will be going up against Texas right-hander Nathan Eovaldi. The 13-year veteran was a key piece for last season’s World Series winning club and while he’s been solid this year it’s been closer to league average. In 27 starts the veteran righty has an ERA just under 4 but he’s falling off down the stretch here over the past few weeks. Over his last 39 ²⁄₃ innings he’s allowed 22 runs, so the A’s are facing Eovaldi at just the right time. They need to get to him fast in this one or else he’ll get on a role.

How the Rangers will line up for tonight’s contest:

Let’s go A’s! Send the Coliseum out with a sweep and that starts tonight!