Texas Rangers (56-42) at Los Angeles Angels (52-46) Game 3 of 3 Preview (2:35 pm CT)

Last night, the Los Angeles Angels halted the 12-game winning streak of the Texas Rangers with a 9-8 victory that came thanks to a large sixth inning of hits for the Angels. Both teams scored a lot of runs last night and this afternoon is going to be a night that the runs say it all as both of the pitchers have won their previous six decisions and are one of the best among their teams.

Looking to increase their four-game lead over the Angels in the AL West rather than decrease it to a three-game lead, the Rangers offense will need to be in line, fully charged and ready to surge some balls out of the park. Here’s a look at the matchups for this afternoon’s game.

Pitching Matchups

RHP Jered Weaver starts for the Angels and will seek his seventh consecutive victorious decision. Weaver is 12-4 with an impressive 1.90 ERA but we wouldn’t expect anything less from the quality starter. His 1.90 ERA is the lowest in the Major Leagues right now in addition to being the best in club history over 20 starts. His last three starts were all won including one complete game in which he allowed just a single run. In nine of his previous 10 starts, he has allowed two or fewer runs including two complete game shutouts. Last time out, he dipped a little bit in his execution striking out three and walking two but still had a quality start nonetheless allowing two runs on seven hits over 6.2 innings.

LHP C. J. Wilson will get the start for the Rangers and will aim for his seventh straight win decision as well. Wilson is 10-3 with a 3.11 ERA. This is Wilson’s second year as a starter for the Rangers and for his career and has been doing well. Last time out, he allowed just one run on five hits in seven innings while striking out seven and walking three. His outing prior against Oakland was a bit of a struggle allowing four on five over seven innings but he still struck out eight batters during the process and still managed to get the win thanks to his team backing him up with runs. In his previous 10 games, he has permitted three or fewer runs in all but two of them.

Pitchers vs. Hitters

RHP Jered Weaver: To be honest, none of the Rangers have the best record against Weaver. The highest batting average is .429 of Endy Chavez and that’s from seven at-bats with three hits including a homer. Elvis Andrus is 11-for-35 with a homer and three RBIs and Adrian Beltre is 9-for-49 with one home run and three RBIs. Mitch Moreland is 4-for-14 with two homers and two RBIs.. Ian Kinsler (12-for-51) and Michael Young (18-for-67) are tied with the most RBIs (6) of the Rangers and each of them also have three doubles and two homers.

LHP C.J. Wilson: Howard Kendrick is 10-for-28 with four doubles and five RBIs and Torii Hunter is 5-for-19 with two homers and seven RBIs. Vernon Wells is 3-for-10 with one homer and three RBIs while Bobby Abreu is 2-for-16 with a double and two RBIs. Russell Branyan has been at the plate six times to face Wilson but hasn’t been able to secure a hit.