The Oakland Athletics are far removed from a playoff push, but they’re intent on changing the narrative for next season.
The A’s will look to continue their upward trajectory when they face the Texas Rangers on Saturday night in Arlington, Texas.
Oakland opened the three-game series with a 9-2 win on Friday. JJ Bleday hit a three-run home run and drove in four runs, Brent Rooker added a pair of solo homers, and Shea Langeliers hit a two-run blast.
The A’s are 14-11 in August after winning four of their past five games. Oakland is set to record consecutive winning months after going 15-9 in July.
“It shows the progress we’ve made,” Rooker said. “We’ve done a good job throughout the course of the year kind of setting small goals for ourselves to achieve. Super proud of our guys the way we competed the last two months. And obviously we want to continue that moving forward and do it again in September.”
Rooker has a career-high 33 homers for Oakland, which has 15 home runs in its past four games.
Texas had its three-game winning streak snapped on Friday and is 10 1/2 games back of the final American League wild-card spot.
Rangers general manager Chris Young said the defending World Series champion likely will start making changes with an eye toward next season in the next few days.
“I think playing time may shift a little bit,” he said. “There may be some guys that, to this point, haven’t gotten as much playing time. They may get more at-bats and see different positions that they haven’t played yet — or consistently played.”
Prospects such as infielder Justin Foscue and pitcher Owen White could receive an opportunity once major league rosters expand on Sunday.
Texas will send left-hander Cody Bradford (4-2, 3.31 ERA) to the mound on Saturday. He allowed one run on three hits over six innings in a 4-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians last Sunday.
Bradford, 26, has a 2.49 ERA in eight starts this season, including five since he returned to the team after missing three months due to a stress fracture in his ribs.
“He’s a man,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “The way he competes, the way he prepares, the maniacal focus he has out there. He’s such a mature young man.”
Bradford is 1-0 and has not allowed a run in two games (one start) across 7 2/3 innings against Oakland.
Right-hander Joey Estes (6-6, 4.37 ERA) is scheduled to start for the A’s. The 22-year-old rookie allowed two runs on two hits over 5 2/3 innings in a 4-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday.
“I have nothing but trust in him when he takes the ball,” said A’s second baseman Zack Gelof. “He’s a bulldog on the mound. No matter how he’s feeling, I always feel like we’re going to get five strong innings from him. He’s just fun to watch.”
Estes is 3-2 with a 2.86 ERA over his last eight games (seven starts) after going 3-4 with a 5.53 ERA in his first 11 starts. He is set to make his first career appearance against the Rangers.
–Field Level Media