Game of the Week: April 10: OAK @ TEX

[Commissioner Erick]

Texas Rangers (0-0) @ Oakland Athletics (0-0)


TEX: Marcus Stroman (0-0, 0.00)
OAK: Jose Berrios (0-0, 0.00)


Players to Watch:


1) SP Marcus Stroman: It's easy to forget, but Stroman had a 5.32 ERA and a 1-9 record early in 2020. Now, he's coming off a season where he led the AL in Wins, and a two-year run of finishing second in WAR each year. Stroman's lost some bite on his pitches, but he's become more experienced. With his combination of movement and control, he never walks anybody, but he also never finds the sweet spot of opposing bats. He's never posted more than 1.0 HR/9, meaning Oakland will have to work to produce runs.

2) RP Jason Groome: A big prospect for awhile, Groome lost his ability to go deep in games, never developed his changeup, and has gone from a starting pitching prospect to a left-handed reliever. As the only lefty in the pen aside from Alex Claudio, the 23-year old will likely be tasked with shutting down Blake Rutherford and Mat Olson

3) LF Ryan O'Hearn: O'Hearn's had a wild ride in Texas, going from starter to backup, platoon slugger, to Triple-A, to the bench, to Designated Hitter. O'Hearn will likely get the first crack at starting in left and batting ninth. His .880 OPS was easily the best of his career as a better average in turn fueled bigger slugging numbers. He's 4-7 off Berrios with two home runs.

1) Jose Berrios: Berrios had a strong season last year, keeping the ball in the park, racking up 200 strikeouts, and leading Oakland to a second consecutive playoff appearance. While Berrios was named to the Puerto Rican National Team, he didn't pitch for them, and with their early tournament exit, he was able to focus on dominating in spring training, putting up a 0.87 ERA. He struggled against Texas last year, going 0-3 and allowing 16 runs in 25.2 innings (5.71 ERA), going exactly 5 innings in four starts, and throwing in a 5.2 outing for good measure. He'll need to be better against the defending AL West Champions with Marcus Stroman on the mound.

2) Byron Buxton: After flashing superstar potential for his early career, Buxton has settled in the past two seasons as simply a very good starter. He doesn't have the bat control to really have a high average or get on base, and he's lost a step already, making him a below-average center fielder and only a good base stealer. Nonetheless, he provides good power, smart base running, and extra base hits all over the park. Buxton has done alright against righties in the past, and is 7-24 against Stroman. How he fares at the plate may be a big decider in who wins.

3) Bobby Wahl: Wahl had roughly the same season the last two years, but a huge increase in home runs spiked his ERA by a run over 2020. While 2020 was likely an aberration, he'll be under some pressure to put up an 85%+ save percentage again, as Oakland's bullpen in the past had driven their success.

[Commissioner Erick]

Athletics 5 - Rangers 3


WP: A. Scherff (1-0)
LP: M. Stroman (0-1)
SV: B. Wahl (1)


How They Fared:

1) SP Marcus Stroman: 4.1IP, 5R, 3ER, 8H, 1BB, 4K (L):

Stroman's defense really did him in, as his ERA after the game was 6.23, his RA was 10.98, but his FIP was 2.14. That being said, while he kept balls on the ground, Stroman also allowed a number of had hit balls, with nine of the 22 batters Stroman facing, making hard contact. A lot of those balls were hit too hard for Stroman's defense to react to. Lefties hit .583 off him, while righties hit .100.

2) RP Jason Groome: 1.2IP, 0 R, 1H, 0BB, 3K:

Groome came on after Stroman struggled, and looked electric. He struck out Jorge Mateo and Ender Inciarte to end the fifth, and after allowing a single and wild pitch to begin the sixth, a strikeout and weak grounder got two outs, and Adam Hasely's hard-hit liner was hit right at Ryan O'Hearn for the inning-ending third out. Three strikeouts in 1.2 innings, including half the righties he faced, will get people's attention.

3) LF Ryan O'Hearn: 0-4, 1 strikeout:

O'Hearn had a rough day at the plate. He flew out softly in the second with a man on, popped out to end the fourth with two on, was robbed by Jeter Downs on a hard-hit grounder leading off the seventh, and struck out in the ninth. Defensively he made two plays on balls hit right at him, but he couldn't track down Logan Ice's double in the fourth, a play that would have been made by most outfielders. As a result, he got tagged with a -9 Zone Rating, and has -0.2 WAR after one game.

1) Jose Berrios: DNP

Berrios was pushed back as Alex Scherff started and went 6 innings allowing just three runs.

2) Byron Buxton: 1-5, 4 strikeouts.

Buxton bated with men on base in the first, second, and fifth innings, and struck out all three occasions. He singled to lead off the seventh, advancing on a pair of walks, but was left stranded when Jeter Downs whiffed with the bases loaded. With runners at the corners in the eighth and a chance to blow the game open, Buxton struck out again to cap off a nightmarish day at the plate. Defensively, Buxton made a play on only one of the three balls hit to his area. He couldn't come in and snag a liner from Carlos Correa, leading to a run that scored when Rougned Odor homered later that inning. He also couldn't chase down a deep double from Odor in the sixth that drove in a run, though that was a tougher chance. He finished with a -1.2 zone rating though, and has -0.2 WAR after just a single game.

3) Bobby Wahl: 1IP, 0R, 1H, 1BB, 1K, (SV):

Wahl kept the ball in the park and recorded his first save. Facing the top of Texas' lineup, he struck out Ryan O'Hearn, gave up a hard-hit ground single to Ozzie Albies, and walked Raimfer Salinas. However, while there was a walk and a single, there weren't any fly balls leading to home runs or extra base hits. Wahl got Francisco Mejia to bang a grounder up the middle leading to a 6-4-3 double play to end the game.