Game #103: Athletics at Rangers Game Thread

Time for a bounce back. A day after dropping the series opener to the Rangers, the A’s will get another chance to win a game in Texas and even up the series. The Rangers are on the outside looking in on the Wild Card picture but are right there. Time to play spoiler.

Tonight’s starting pitcher for the road team will be right-hander JT Ginn, who will be making his first start since mid-May. The rookie has shown flashes since making his big league debut last year but hasn’t quite been able to put it together yet. Injuries haven’t helped his case but he’s now healthy and will get the ball for a starting appearance, and a quality outing could earn him an extended look in the rotation.

The A’s starting lineup for the middle game against the Rangers:

As expected Lawrence Butler is back in center field for the Athletics in Denzel Clarke’s absence. Taking Butler’s place in right field will be top outfield prospect Colby Thomas, who rejoined the team in the flurry of roster moves this afternoon. Additionally, the club will see trade candidate Miguel Andujar handle third base tonight since Max Muncy was also placed on the IL this afternoon. All the rest of the regulars are in there for the middle contest.

Texas will counter the Athletics’ rookie starting pitcher with one of the best pitchers in the game and perhaps one of the all-tike greats. Right-handed veteran Jacob deGrom will get the nod tonight hoping to improve on his impressive season. He’s gone 9-2 and has a stellar 2.32 ERA through 19 starts this season, his first fully healthy season in five years. He’s still got it at 37 years old and the A’s offense has a big challenge ahead of them against this future Hall-of-Famer.

Texas’ lineup for tonight’s contest looks like this:

Who else feels like playing spoiler against these guys? Let’s go A’s!