Rich Harden kicks off the series against his former club the Texas Rangers on Thursday. (Photo Credit: John Green/San Mateo Times)

Entering their final series before the All-Star break, the Oakland Athletics will need to get something going when they face off against the Texas Rangers in a key four-game set.

The A’s at 39-49 are 8.0 games behind the first-place Rangers, and can either sink further down the standings or make up some ground before the break. The A’s can achieve the latter by continuing to play solid baseball against the Rangers, who are 2-4 against the A’s this season.

Oakland’s pitching staff has been a major reason why the team still has a shot in the American League West, but going forward, the offense will need to step up and support a pitching staff that leads the AL in ERA (3.09).

Entering the Texas series, Oakland’s bats are hitting a combined .236/.302/.341 with a total of 46 home runs. The A’s have not gotten much production out of any one player on offense, and it seems like everyone not named Jemile Weeks is struggling offensively.  (more…)