by The Mailman of Predictem.com
Texas starter Rich Harden is somewhat of an enigma this season. He’s a good pitcher that doesn’t allow many hits but his control has been horrid allowing 23 walks in 23.2 innings pitched. It’s very odd to see a pitcher with a 4.56 ERA and a 1.86 whip while only allowing a good .250 batting average against himself.
Maybe visiting his old stomping grounds tonight (Oakland Coliseum) will remedy his issues as in 49 career games there he’s only allowed a 2.98 ERA and a very sleek 1.17 whip.
This will be the first time he’s ever pitched against the A’s in his career, so there’s no real hitter vs. pitcher stats to check out here.
His opponent tonight is lefty Dallas Braden who has been absolutely stellar at home this season in which he’s tossed 20 innings, allowed only 13 hits (3 of those were homers) and only walking 3 batters. This gives him a home ERA of 2.25 and a nasty 0.80 whip. Opposing hitters have only hit .188 against him there.
Braden has faced a handful of Rangers in the past. No Ranger has homered off of him but a few have some decent averages against him:
Elvis Andrus 0-4
Vald Guerrero 2-3
Josh Hamilton 2-3
Ian Kinsler 4-10
Michael Young 4-13
Texas has been pretty hot lately winning 3 in a row and 7 of their last 10. They’re 6-6 on the road this season.
Oakland has been playing mediocre dropping their last game and losing 6 of their last 10 games overall.
Rich Harden should be really motivated to come back to Oakland and pitch against one of his old teams. Dallas Braden should be sharp as well. Who will win this game is anybody’s guess, but the game has some pretty good betting value with the UNDER 8 runs.
Good luck!
