The Los Angeles Angels host Texas in the first game of their three-game set on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. The Rangers took two out of three against Oakland in their last series. In another Al West matchup, Seattle suffered a sweep against the Angels. The offense exploded for 20 total runs, including a high scoring 10-9 victory in the series finale. Texas has won four of the last six meetings against the Los Angeles Angels, and they'll be looking for more wins to keep up with the surprise team in first place in the division. First pitch is set for 10:07 PM ET on Tuesday night and the game will be broadcast on MLB.tv, FSN Southwest, and FSN West.
Rangers (2-4 overall, 3-3 O/U, 0-0 away, 4th AL West)
Texas exploded with an 8-1 win against Oakland last time out. Catcher Robinson Chirinos (.333 avg) and third baseman Joey Gallo (.200 avg) both recorded a home run -- Chrinos blasted his first one of the season. Six runners were left in scoring position and the lineup struck out 12 times, but they were still able to reel in eight runs on seven hits.
Left-handed starter Cole Hamels looks to build off of his tremendous 2016 season, but he got off on a rough start against Cleveland. In the 9-6 loss, he was dinged for three earned runs (with one unearned) and gave up five hits. In 91 pitches, he gave up one home run but had four strikeouts. Hamels has given up three or more runs in four of his last five starts.
Third baseman Adrian Beltre still hasn't made his debut this season, and he's unfortunately out for an extended period of time due to a setback in his recovery of a strained right calf muscle.
Angels (5-2 overall, 3-4 O/U, 3-0 home, 1st AL West)
Left-handed starter Tyler Skaggs will make the start for the Angels, and he had a rough time in his last start.
The team lost 5-1 to Oakland and he was responsible for all five runs off of five hits in 5.1 innings pitched. He had a ratio of five strikeouts to three walks on 89 pitches thrown. The last time he gave up over five runs was against Cleveland on August 12th last season.
Relief pitcher Tanner Scheppers is still sitting out with an abdominal strain and will be out until later this month.
Starter Garrett Richards suffered an injury in his first start this season with cramps in his right biceps and has been placed on the 10-day DL. He has the potential to start in their game on Friday.
Betting on Rangers and Angels
Los Angeles is a -117 home favorite on the moneyline with Texas listed at +107. Run total is set at 8. The Rangers are 2-9 in their last 11 games overall.
