Oakland Athletics: Gearing Up For Final Home Stand
By Joey Lopez
With just 10 games remaining this season, the A’s will begin their six-game home stand on Friday.
The Oakland Athletics will begin their final home stand this season on Friday against the visiting Texas Rangers. Unlike the Rangers, the A’s will be playing for respect and not a spot in the 2017 playoffs.
The A’s return to Oakland after sweeping the Detroit Tigers and 69 wins on the year. With 10 games left in the season, the A’s goal for 75 is clearly within reach. They will need to go 6-4 to complete their goal.
With the Rangers (74-76) competing for a spot in the Wild Card race, the A’s will likely see plenty of energy from their AL West rivals. Equally as challenging for the Rangers, though, is an Oakland team that has been on a recent hot-streak.
The A’s are riding a four-game win streak and are 7-3 overall in their last 10 games. The Rangers, meanwhile, are 3-7 over their last 10.
In September, the A’s have gone 11-8 and are being led by an energized young group. Matt Olson has displayed plenty of power during the A’s solid month of baseball and could be offering fans a glimpse into a brighter future.
Oakland Athletics
OLSON’S SEPTEMBER TO REMEMBER?
The A’s should be ecstatic about Olson’s 2017 campaign. Olson’s bat has been a major reason why the A’s are in a position to capture a winning record in September. Fans in Oakland will be able to catch a glimpse of Olson’s power at the Coliseum this weekend.
To give you a small taste of Olson’s tremendous month of September, I’ll just mention the number 12. Yes, 12.
That is the number of times Olson has gone deep this month. He has collected 12 home runs in the month of September and has 10 more games remaining to add to that total. .
Olson is displaying serious power for the A’s and will be a player worth watching during the team’s series against Texas. Overall, Olson is slashing .263/.359/.659 with 23 HR and 43 RBI.
AN OPPORTUNITY TO GROW
The A’s have enjoyed a solid month of September and while the team sits in last-place entering Friday, there is a positive energy surrounding the club.
The A’s have already matched last year’s win total and have an opportunity to surpass that total with a win on Friday.
As stated before, 75 wins would be a nice total for this club. It would be an impressive total for a club that has battled through injuries and plenty of adversity all year long.
The young core has been showing signs of promise and fans should make it out to the ballpark to catch a glimpse of Oakland’s future.
Along with Olson, the A’s feature talented youngsters in Matt Chapman, Chad Pinder, Marcus Semien and Ryon Healy.
While the season has been tough, the A’s may come out of this year stronger and more confident.