Texas Rangers: Can Cole Hamels Continue His Streak vs Angels?

The Texas Rangers have been red-hot since the All-Star break, and part of it has been because of lefty Cole Hamels. He gets the start in an important game one against the Angels. What should we expect from this game?

It’s going to be hard to find a better game than the Angels versus the Texas Rangers on Monday. Veteran lefty Cole Hamels goes for his fourth straight victory against the Halos. He’s 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA in seven career starts against the Angels.

This is a huge series for the Rangers as they trail the Angels by 2 1/2 games in the Wild Card race. The Angels are currently tied with the Twins for the second Wild Card spot. Both teams need to win, but only one can end up victorious.

It will be a battle of left-handers on Monday as Tyler Skaggs heads to the mound for the Angels. He’s 1-3 with a 3.63 ERA in eight starts this season. It’s been a rough year for Skaggs who missed over three months with a strained right oblique muscle.

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The Rangers will need Cole Hamels to be an ace on Monday as the team will be without slugger Joey Gallo. He is under concussion protocol after colliding with pitcher Matt Bush on Sunday. The Rangers will miss his powerful bat in the lineup the next few days.

Luckily for Texas, Skaggs has struggled heavily versus the Rangers in his career. He has a 5.46 ERA in six starts against Texas. The red-hot Rangers offense should be able to handle Skaggs easily, and could potentially put the game out of reach early.

The Rangers gave up quite a lot to acquire Hamels from the Phillies in 2015. He’s pitching like an ace now, and he could send Texas to another postseason in 2017.

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