Rangers @ Athletics

Who will WIN this matchup?

Texas Rangers (39-71)

@ Oakland Athletics (62-48)

Starting Pitchers:

Anderson (TEX): 0-0; 0.00 ERA

Irvin (OAK) 7-10; 3.50 ERA

Current odds:

Texas Rangers: (+210)

Oakland Athletics: (-240)

• Right-hander Drew Anderson will seek his first major-league win in just his second big-league start Saturday afternoon when he and the Texas Rangers visit the Oakland Athletics in the continuation of a three-game series. The A’s took the opener 4-1 in 11 innings on Friday night, getting a three-run homer from Starling Marte that resulted in the club’s second consecutive walk-off win. The loss was the Rangers’ fourth straight.

• Anderson, a native of Reno, Nev., can expect family and friends to make the 200-mile trip to see his third outing since being promoted from Triple-A last week. Both of his previous appearances for the Rangers came in relief, including a shutout ninth inning Wednesday in a 2-1 home loss to the Los Angeles Angels.

• In between getting released by the Chicago White Sox last season and making 12 starts at Round Rock this spring and summer, Anderson took a detour to Melbourne, where he dominated the Australian Baseball League as a reliever over the winter. Anderson’s only other major-league start came for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2018. He saw Marte three times in those National League East days, striking out the former Miami Marlin twice and allowing a single.

• Marte’s heroics on Friday gave the A’s their major-league-leading 10th walk-off win of the season.

• One hitter Anderson won’t have to deal with is A’s outfielder Ramon Laureano, who was suspended 80 games by Major League Baseball on Friday for a positive drug test. Oakland has just 52 games remaining in the regular season.

• Anderson will be up against a former teammate on Saturday when left-hander Cole Irvin (7-10, 3.50) gets the ball for the A’s. The prospects played together for Triple-A Lehigh Valley in the Phillies’ organization in 2019, from where Irvin was promoted that May to make his major-league debut. Irvin went 6-1 for Lehigh Valley that season, while Anderson was 0-6.

• Irvin will be seeking to end a personal two-game losing streak that includes a 1-0 road loss to the Angels last Saturday. He gave up the game’s only run during his 6 1/3 innings. The 27-year-old is plenty familiar with the Rangers — and vice versa — as they’ve squared off twice already this season. Irvin benefitted from a 13-run attack in a win in June, before allowing all three Rangers runs in a 3-2 loss in July. Both of those games were at Texas. He’s 1-1 against the Rangers in his career with a 5.40 ERA in those two starts.

• Irvin can expect to see Charlie Culberson in the Texas lineup after he was used just as a pinch runner and defensive replacement in the series opener. Culberson went 4-for-7 with a double and an RBI against Irvin in the two earlier meetings.