Athletics vs. Rangers Friday MLB probable pitchers, odds: Behind Jon Gray, Texas tries for first five-game winning streak since 2019

I follow Major League Baseball pretty strongly and if you would have asked me whether every team in the majors had at least one five-game winning streak so far this decade, I would have thought that was probably true. However, at least one team hasn't: Texas. The AL West-leading Rangers look for their first five-game streak since 2019 as they host the atrocious Oakland A's on Friday in a series opener. With Jon Gray on the mound, the Rangers are -210 at Caesars Sportsbook.

From 2017-22, the Rangers had just one day in which they held at least a share of first place in the AL West -- July 24, 2020, when they were tied for first. The team's 12-6 start this year is its best since 2013, and it leads the West by 3.5 games over the second-place Angels and Astros. Today will be the 13th day this season that the Rangers lead the division and the eighth straight. DraftKings oddsmakers still favor Houston in the West at -105, with Texas at +300.

Texas opened this current four-game run with a 9-1 win at Houston last Sunday and then swept three games in blowout fashion early this week at Kansas City, which isn't that much better than tanking Oakland. The sweep at Kauffman Stadium was the Rangers' first undefeated road series of at least three games since 2019 at Baltimore. The last time the team won five straight games overall was July 31-Aug. 5, 2019 – home vs. Seattle and Detroit. Texas won four in a row twice in 2022.

I haven't seen any updated AL Manager of the Year odds recently, but the Rangers' Bruce Bochy has to be the favorite. The three-time World Series winner with the Giants never won Manager of the Year with San Francisco, but did so in 1996 with San Diego.

This three-game homestand vs. the A's, the first meeting of the season between the teams, marks the only home games for Texas against AL West opponents until June. The team will wear the club's new Nike City Connect uniforms for the first time Friday. They are, shall we say, very unique – and have not been received well on social media.

Jon Gray (1-1, 3.21 ERA) gets the call on Friday. Gray was hit by a 109.3 mph line drive off the bat of Houston's Yainer Diaz to lead off the third inning last Saturday and it looked as if Gray was seriously hurt at first – he thought his arm was broken. It turned out to merely be a bruised forearm and he feels good enough to start. Gray has 996 career strikeouts and is seeking to become the 40th active MLB pitcher to record 1,000 punchouts. He is 1-1 with a 5.87 ERA in 15.1 career innings vs. Oakland.

The A's enter at 3-16 and have lost 13 of 14 as they transition toward a move to Las Vegas, with the team announcing this week that land near the Strip has been purchased and a stadium will be built with the hope of a move to Sin City by 2027. The site is about a mile north of Allegiant Stadium, where the Raiders play, and about a mile west of T-Mobile Arena, where the Golden Knights play. The team's lease at the Oakland Coliseum expires after the 2024 season, so it might have to play somewhere else temporarily for a few years if the city doesn't want to extend the lease.

Lefty J.P. Sears (0-1, 4.60 ERA) starts Friday. He was acquired last season from the Yankees in the Frankie Montas trade. Sears pitched twice vs. Texas last year, going 1-0 with a 5.00 ERA. Oakland starters have an incredible 8.59 ERA this season, by far the worst mark in the majors. 

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