Angels play the Athletics in series rubber match

Oakland Athletics (40-66, fifth in the AL West) vs. Los Angeles Angels (44-60, fourth in the AL West)

Anaheim, California; Thursday, 4:07 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Athletics: Paul Blackburn (6-6, 4.15 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 86 strikeouts); Angels: Janson Junk (1-0, .00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, nine strikeouts)

LINE: Angels -121, Athletics +102; over/under is 8 runs

BOTTOM LINE: Both the Los Angeles Angels and the Oakland Athletics are looking for a series win with a victory on Thursday.

Los Angeles has gone 24-31 at home and 44-60 overall. The Angels have gone 14-42 in games when they have allowed a home run.

Oakland has a 23-32 record on the road and a 40-66 record overall. The Athletics have an 8-17 record in games decided by one run.

Thursday's game is the 10th time these teams square off this season. The Angels are up 6-3 in the season series.

TOP PERFORMERS:

Sean Murphy has 25 doubles, a triple and 13 home runs for the Athletics. Elvis Andrus is 13-for-38 with four doubles, a home run and three RBI over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Angels: 5-5, .225 batting average, 2.73 ERA, outscored opponents by three runs

Athletics: 6-4, .242 batting average, 3.41 ERA, outscored opponents by five runs

INJURIES: Angels: Matt Duffy: 60-Day IL (back), Mike Trout: 10-Day IL (back), Michael Lorenzen: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Archie Bradley: 60-Day IL (elbow), Anthony Rendon: 60-Day IL (wrist), Chris Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Griffin Canning: 60-Day IL (back)

Athletics: Jed Lowrie: 10-Day IL (shoulder), Daulton Jefferies: 60-Day IL (arm), Deolis Guerra: 60-Day IL (elbow), Brent Honeywell Jr.: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.