Los Angeles Angels (11-6) at Texas Rangers (11-6) Preview Series Finale

The two teams are tied again and will look to gain the sole possession of AL West’s first place. The Angels handed the Rangers their first loss at home last night by pounding them 15-4.

Matt Harrison will look for his fourth ightst win for the season while Jered Weaver will attempt to get his fifth consecutive win for the season in the series finale at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Pitching Matchups

LHP Matt Harrison is 3-0 for the season with an earned run average of 1.23. The 25-year-old is the only left-handed pitcher with three wins to his name in the Major Leagues and is on the prowl to join Darren Oliver as the second left-handed pitcher in the club’s history to win each of his four starts for the season – Oliver did it in 2001.

Against the Angels, Harrison is 2-1 with an earned run average of 5.40 in seven games for his career. He has two starts against them going 1-0 with an ugly ERA of 8.10.

In his very first start against Boston this season, he had eight strikeouts over seven innings. He only had two hits in seven innings against the Orioles for his second start and in his third start against the New York Yankees, he only two runs, one of which was earned, over eight innings to secure his third win. Over a total of 22 innings this season, Harrison has allowed just four runs, three of which were earned, on 14 hits.

RHP Jered Weaver will face the Rangers tonight on the mound for the 21st time for his MLB career – he has won five of the last seven decisions. Last year, he went up against Texas six times and went 3-1 with a 3.52 ERA. For the season, he is 4-0 with a 1.30 ERA. He has pitched 27.2 innings and has allowed five runs, four of which were earned, on 13 hits.

This right-handed pitcher set a Major League record on April 15 against the Chicago White Sox went his record went up to 4-0 – it’s the earliest for anyone to start the season with this record. He currently has 31 strikeouts for the season, which is the most in the Major Leagues and is tied for the most wins in the Majors with his teammate Dan Haren.

Pitchers vs. Hitters

LHP Matt Harrison:  Most of the Angels have hit pretty well off Harrison and it’s definitely going to be hard for him to get his fourth win. Peter Boujos is 1-for-1, Jeff Mathis is 3-for-4, Howard Kendrick is 2-for-4, Bobby Abreu is 3-for-6 with one RBI. Torii Hunter is 1-for-7 but does have a home run off Harrison as well as three RBIs.

RHP Jered Weaver: Only one player is batting over .333 against Weaver and that’s Mitch Moreland. Moreland is 3-for-8 with two homers and two RBIs. Michael Young is 15-for-60 with two homers and four RBIs, Elvis Andrus is 7-for-28 with one RBI, Nelson Cruz is 8-for-35 with one RBI, Ian Kinsler is 10-for-44 with two homers and six RBIs and David Murphy is 5-for-25 with one RBI.

Rangers Lineup

Ian Kinsler will get a day off at second base and will DH while Michael Young takes his place at 2B. Mitch Moreland is moved to RF with Mike Napoli comes in to take over first. David Murphy is in CF and Julio Borbon is out.

DH Ian Kinsler
SS Elvis Andrus
2B Michael Young
3B Adrian Beltre
LF Nelson Cruz
CF David Murphy
1B Mike Napoli
RF Mitch Moreland
C Yorvit Torrealba