IMAGE: Imagn Images<\/div>\n
The Texas Rangers and the Oakland Athletics are neck and neck in the American League West, each sitting at 9-8 as they prepare for the third game of their four-game showdown at Sutter Health Park. It’s a gripping race to watch, with both teams vying for the top spot in their division.<\/p>\n
As we head into Wednesday’s clash, the Los Angeles Angels are nipping at their heels with a 9-9 record, just half a game behind. Meanwhile, the Seattle Mariners, at 8-10, trail by 1.5 games, and the Houston Astros, plagued by pitching injuries, find themselves at 7-11, 2.5 games back. The competitive spirit is alive and well in the AL West, with every game holding significant weight.<\/p>\n
In Tuesday’s matchup, the Rangers fell to the Athletics 2-1, managing only four hits. Jake Burger was the lone bright spot offensively, driving in Texas’ only run with an RBI hit. Burger has been a standout performer for the Rangers in this series, having blasted two home runs in their opening victory on Monday.<\/p>\n
The Rangers have been tinkering with their lineup, notably swapping Seager and Langford in the Nos. 2 and 3 spots. Langford, who has been struggling, went 0-for-3 in the previous game, prompting the Rangers to seek a better offensive rhythm. With this change, Texas aims to capitalize on Nimmo’s presence at the top, especially against a right-handed pitcher, by starting with two lefties.<\/p>\n
Jake Burger is taking a breather, allowing Evan Carter to step into the clean-up role. Another intriguing development is Joc Pederson’s debut at first base this season, adding another lefty to the mix.<\/p>\n
This lineup shuffling results in four left-handed hitters in the top five spots. Smith returns to the lineup after a night off, and Duran takes over left field duties from Langford.<\/p>\n
Third baseman Josh Jung, batting sixth, is someone to keep an eye on. He’s been on a tear recently, posting a .381\/.458\/.524 slash line over his last seven games, with two RBIs and a solid on-base streak in April. His batting average has climbed significantly, showcasing his improving form.<\/p>\n
On the mound, the Rangers will send right-hander Kumar Rocker (0-1, 4.50 ERA) to face the Athletics’ right-hander J.T. Ginn (0-0, 3.27 ERA).<\/p>\n
Fans can catch the game on Rangers Sports Network or stream it on Victory+, while Athletics supporters can tune in via NBC Sports Bay Area+. As the series unfolds, both teams will be looking to gain the upper hand in this fiercely contested division.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
IMAGE: Imagn Images The Texas Rangers and the Oakland Athletics are neck and neck in the American League West, each sitting at 9-8 as they prepare for… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":177234,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-177233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n
Rangers Make Surprising Lineup Switch Vs As - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=177233\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rangers Make Surprising Lineup Switch Vs As - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"IMAGE: Imagn Images The Texas Rangers and the Oakland Athletics are neck and neck in the American League West, each sitting at 9-8 as they prepare for...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=177233\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-16T11:45:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Them-tieu-de-99.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"XuanTan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"XuanTan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=177233\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=177233\",\"name\":\"Rangers Make Surprising Lineup Switch Vs As - NEWS USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=177233#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=177233#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Them-tieu-de-99.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-16T11:45:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-16T11:45:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ac862d5ceb335ec8f1e374ed4bdb0c06\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=177233#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=177233\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=177233#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Them-tieu-de-99.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Them-tieu-de-99.jpg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":2000},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=177233#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Rangers Make Surprising Lineup Switch Vs As\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"NEWS USA\",\"description\":\"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ac862d5ceb335ec8f1e374ed4bdb0c06\",\"name\":\"XuanTan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4f0d0d8858cf9c64fc1f3105c62cff269864cf9a26f88149688bdf4dc953df45?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4f0d0d8858cf9c64fc1f3105c62cff269864cf9a26f88149688bdf4dc953df45?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"XuanTan\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Rangers Make Surprising Lineup Switch Vs As - NEWS USA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=177233","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Rangers Make Surprising Lineup Switch Vs As - NEWS USA","og_description":"IMAGE: Imagn Images The Texas Rangers and the Oakland Athletics are neck and neck in the American League West, each sitting at 9-8 as they prepare for...","og_url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=177233","og_site_name":"NEWS USA","article_published_time":"2026-04-16T11:45:29+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2000,"height":2000,"url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Them-tieu-de-99.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"XuanTan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"XuanTan","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=177233","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=177233","name":"Rangers Make Surprising Lineup Switch Vs As - NEWS USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=177233#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=177233#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Them-tieu-de-99.jpg","datePublished":"2026-04-16T11:45:29+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-16T11:45:29+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ac862d5ceb335ec8f1e374ed4bdb0c06"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=177233#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=177233"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=177233#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Them-tieu-de-99.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Them-tieu-de-99.jpg","width":2000,"height":2000},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=177233#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Rangers Make Surprising Lineup Switch Vs As"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/","name":"NEWS USA","description":"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ac862d5ceb335ec8f1e374ed4bdb0c06","name":"XuanTan","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4f0d0d8858cf9c64fc1f3105c62cff269864cf9a26f88149688bdf4dc953df45?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4f0d0d8858cf9c64fc1f3105c62cff269864cf9a26f88149688bdf4dc953df45?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"XuanTan"},"url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?author=2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=177233"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177233\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":177235,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177233\/revisions\/177235"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/177234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=177233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=177233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=177233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"https:\/\/files.fanbeat.win\/art\/PlWKtBrdhJUk.avif\")
<\/p>\n