Texas Rangers (16-11) at Oakland Athletics (13-14)
Probable Starting Pitchers: Matt Harrison (3-2, 3.69 ERA) Gio Gonzalez (2-2, 2.70 ERA)
Texas' bats came alive on Saturday as the Rangers touched up Brett Anderson and the Oakland pitching staff for 11 runs and they received a strong start from Colby Lewis en route to an 11-2 win over the A's. Now on Sunday, Matt Harrison and the Rangers look to make it two in a row and position themselves to take three of four from Oakland.
Harrison draws the start for Texas on Sunday as he looks to rebound from his worst start of the season. Harrison lasted only three innings on April 26 against the Blue Jays, allowing seven runs on eight hits while walking three and striking out just one. The seven earned runs given up are more than Harrison had allowed in his first four starts of the season combined (six). Still, Harrison's overall numbers on the year are very good (1.20 WHIP, .230 BAA), but he'll need to have a strong outing to ease the minds of some fans.
Harrison will be opposed by Gio Gonzalez today, who put together a solid April, going 2-2 with a 2.70 ERA. Gonzalez has been plagued by control issues, though, as he's walked 14 in 30 innings while giving up 28 hits - good for a 1.40 WHIP. Texas will likely have opportunities today with runners on base - they'll just need to make sure they have the timely hits to help knock up Gonzalez' ERA.
First pitch is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. CDT, 1:05 p.m. local.