Two teams eyeing a postseason berth lock horns tonight, as the Texas Rangers (70-62) pay their division rival Los Angeles Angels (67-66) a visit for the first encounter of their three-game set at Angel Stadium. The Rangers have won six of their last seven games entering this matchup, while the Angels will be looking to avoid their first five-game home slide in two years. Who’ll come out hungrier and draw first blood in this crucial series?
Read on for an in-depth preview of this American League West showdown. And if you’re looking for other sports action, click here to view our Grand Slam tennis action featuring Roger Federer vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber and Andy Murray vs. Thomaz Bellucci. Enjoy.
[sc:MLBArticles ]Texas Rangers vs. Los Angeles Angels Preview
Where: Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, CA
When: Friday, September 4, 10:05 PM ET
Line: Texas Rangers (-140) vs. Los Angeles Angels (+130); Total: 7.5—View all MLB Lines
Betting on the Texas Rangers
After losing their series opener with the Padres, the Texas Rangers responded well by winning the next two with an aggregate score of 12-9. Those two-straight victories were pretty crucial ones as they extended their lead over the Twins to 1.5 games for the second wild card spot in the American League. The Rangers will look to stretch this advantage further when they open up a critical three-game series with the Los Angeles Angels.
[sc:MLB240banner ]Getting the nod for the Rangers is Martin Perez (2-3, 5.15 ERA), who’s been pitching efficiently as of late. Over his previous five turns, the 24-year-old lefty is 2-1 with a 3.13 ERA and 1.13 WHIP. That stretch includes, a 2-1 triumph versus San Francisco on August 2, where he logged in 8 1/3 innings of two-run ball, while registering six strikeouts to his name.
Furthermore, Perez seems to be right on track for a strong performance this evening. He is 1-0 with an excellent ERA of 1.84 and a .189 opponents’ batting average across three career appearances opposite the Angels. But he hasn’t faced this team for more than two years already.
As for the offense, the Rangers expect Prince Fielder, who leads his team in batting average (.317), homers (18), RBIs (73) and hits (158) this season, to continue lighting up the plate. Fielder is currently on an eight-game hitting streak, where he’s gone 10-for-21. He’s been giving headaches to the Angels’ starter, Garrett Richards, throughout his career, batting .438 (7-for-16) off the righty.
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Betting on the Los Angeles Angels
The Los Angeles Angels are running out of time to get into playoff position. They have lost six of their last 10 and are currently 3.5 games short of the final AL wild card spot. But the Angels have a very good chance in trimming this deficit lower and start their series opposite the Texas Rangers on a good note with Garrett Richards (12-10, 3.80 ERA) toeing the rubber for them.
Richards is coming off a forgettable month of August, where he compiled a 2-2 record with a 5.17 ERA through six starts. Fortunately though, this nightmare could end later as the 27-year-old righty seems to love playing at Angel Stadium, where he is 8-4 with a respectable 3.09 ERA and .210 opponents’ batting average over 13 starts thus far. Los Angeles went 9-4 in that span.
Also, Richards has been almost just as brilliant when facing the Rangers, owning an 8-1 mark with a 3.11 ERA throughout 16 career games (12 starts). That stretch includes a noteworthy performance on July 3, where he torched Texas by logging in 7 2/3 frames of one-run ball to garner the resounding 8-2 win.
But relying on their pitcher alone won’t be enough for the Angels. They’ll need some productions on offense to successfully pull off a victory. Expect their hard-hitting duo of Mike Trout and Albert Pujols, who currently lead the majors with 68 homers combined this year, to lead them at the plate.
Trout is 7-for-16 in the past four games and is hitting .335 with 17 homers and 57 RBIs in his career against Texas. Pujols, meanwhile, is 4-for-12 in his previous three, while holding a decent triple-slash line of .277/.399/.551 at home this year.
Writer’s Prediction:
Angels (+130) receive a solid pitching performance from Richards to pick up the thrilling 5-4 win.
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