Bruce Bochy Gives High Praise to A's Offense: 'A Lot of Talent There'

As Bruce Bochy sat in the dugout pregame before his Texas Rangers started a three-game series with the Athletics in West Sacramento, he sat back and smiled when asked about how his team will attack the A's young and dangerous lineup, a team that was on a 21-10 stretch.

"I just asked (A's manager) Kotsay the same thing, he wouldn't tell me" joked Bochy. He continued, "It's a good lineup, they've got some hot hitters. We've just got to execute our pitches."

The Rangers sit two game above .500 and 3.5 games out of a Wild card spot following their 5-2 win over the A's in the first game of the series. They are still playing for something, and many within the organization still believe in the group they have. President of Baseball Operations Chris Young is one of those individuals, who thinks their "best baseball is ahead" of them, and a run towards October is more than possible.

The A's want to finish their season strong, and continue what they've been doing so well the month of August. Bochy said of their young future stars like Nick Kurtz, Jacob Wilson, "A lot of talent there. Their record shows you what they could be. They've been playing good baseball — scoring runs... really good pitching too."

This next stretch in which they face the Athletics, Arizona Diamondbacks and then the Houston Astros back at home will be pivotal for Texas' postseason chances. They'll have to first set their minds on attacking the A's young offense to be able to give themselves the best chance possible to still be playing in just over a month's time.

There is also a chance that the Athletics could be without rookie first baseman Nick Kurtz for the remainder of the series, as he was pulled in the top of the fourth inning of Friday night's game with what has been deemed right oblique soreness. There was no update available after the game, other than that the team would like him to receive an MRI.

Where the Rangers may catch a break here is that A's manager Mark Kotsay noted postgame that getting an MRI done could be difficult, given that this is a holiday weekend. It's tough to imagine the A's sending Kurtz back out to the field without getting that testing done.

The A's and Rangers will continue their weekend series with game two on Saturday with Merrill Kelly (10-7, 3.20 ERA) taking on Mason Barnett, who will be making his MLB debut.