Muller is looking to get back on track after two subpar outings.
After an embarrassing loss Saturday night, the Oakland Athletics will again try to pick up the pieces Sunday when they wrap up a three-game series against the Texas Rangers.
Oakland won the opener Friday rallying from a four-run deficit to win 5-4. Jordan Diaz’s ninth inning home run off of Will Smith was the deciding blow and snapped a seven-game losing streak. The A’s came crashing back to reality though Saturday as Shintaro Fujinami allowed eight runs in just 2 1/3 innings of an 18-3 loss.
Oakland will turn to lefty Kyle Muller, who is in need of a good outing, in the finale. Muller got the start on Opening Day for the A’s and allowed just three runs combined over his first 10 2/3 innings. However, the wheels have come off in his next two outings where he has allowed 20 hits and 12 runs in just eight innings.
The Rangers will go with prized offseason acquisition Jacob deGrom who will be making his fifth start of the season. There was some question as to whether deGrom would be ready to start Sunday after he left his last outing after the fourth inning due to some soreness in his wrist. He was able to complete his between starts bullpen session and appears to be ready to go for Sunday. deGrom was tagged for five runs in just 3 2/3 innings on Opening Day, but has allowed three earned runs in 17 innings since. He didn’t allow a hit in Monday’s start against the Royals before exiting with the wrist issue.
Conner Capel went 1-for-4 in Saturday’s loss extending his hitting streak to five-straight games. Capel is 6-for-15 during the streak and has seen increased playing time with Seth Brown and Ramón Laureano on the injured list.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Sunday, April 23, 11:35 a.m. PDT
Location: Globe Life Field, Arlington, Texas
TV: NBCSCA
Streaming: MLB.tv
Radio: A’s Cast, Bloomberg 960 AM / 103.7 HD2