Oakland's not much healthier. Nick Kurtz is stuck in a brace for three more weeks after a thumb procedure, Shea Langeliers just had knee surgery, and Brent Rooker is done for the year after tearing cartilage in his knee. That's the middle of the order gutted for a team that was already 47-74 walking into this weekend.
Texas snapped a 10-inning drought at Angel Stadium for its first win there all season before dropping the finale, and the Rangers also split a short set with Baltimore, taking one of the last two. It's not a hot streak, but it's a team still finding ways to win close ones, which matters more than ever with the Wild Card race this tight.
The Athletics, meanwhile, have been getting run out of their own building. Sutter Health Park has turned into a house of horrors this month, with Oakland dropping blowout after blowout at home even while it managed to take two from Boston on the road right before this funk started. There's just not enough pitching depth to hold a lineup like Texas's down over a full series.
Texas still has real problems of its own — outscored on the season, a rotation stitched together with replacement parts — but a fringe contender playing a last-place team desperate to stop the bleeding is a spot the Rangers should be circling. Winning this series is the kind of thing that keeps a Wild Card hope alive into September.