Texas Rangers Hoping to Stay Hot in Los Angeles

The Texas Rangers will look to build off consecutive series wins as they head to Los Angeles to play the Angels in a 4-game series.

The Texas Rangers (4-2) are coming off of their 2nd straight series win to open up the 2019 season after beating the Astros twice to cap off their first AL West matchup of the year. They’ll follow up these couple of wins with a trip to the West Coast to take on the Los Angeles Angels (1-5) in a 4-game AL West series.

Projected Starters

Thursday: RHP Edinson Volquez (0-0, 9.00 ERA) vs. RHP Matt Harvey (0-0, 3.00 ERA)

Friday: RHP Lance Lynn (0-0, 11.12 ERA) vs. RHP Felix Pena (0-1, 9.82 ERA)

Saturday: LHP Drew Smyly (0-0, 3.00 ERA) vs. LHP Tyler Skaggs (0-1, 3.86 ERA)

Sunday: RHP Shelby Miller (0-0, 4.91 ERA) vs. TBD

The Rangers will face a struggling Angels rotation in their first road series of the 2019 season. The Angels are off to a sluggish start dropping 3 of 4 to the A’s in their opening series of the year and then suffering a 2-game sweep at the hands of a very hot Seattle Mariners club. Los Angeles got the day off on Wednesday which is why the Rangers are going to see a variation of their starting rotation and why things aren’t quite in the order expected.

Matt Harvey is the first Angels starter the Rangers will see and he had one of the better starts LA has had thus far this season in his first appearance going 6 innings and allowing 2 earned runs on 4 hits. Harvey was signed by the Angels this offseason with hopes that he could bolster a struggling rotation from 2018.

Felix Pena is coming off an average year for the Angels in 2018 where he made 17 starts and had an ERA just above the 4.00 mark. His first start in 2019 didn’t quite go as planned as he only lasted 3.2 innings allowing 4 earned runs on 4 hits.

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The Rangers rotation will look to be a bit more solid this go ’round after struggling their first time through as a unit. Edinson Volquez and Lance Lynn both struggled mightily in their Rangers debuts with neither making it past the 6th inning. Drew Smyly only went 3 innings in his first start for Texas after racking up a quick 73 pitches. He allowed just 1 run before being pulled in favor of Adrian Sampson so no doubt he will be looking to go a little bit deeper into the game when he gets the start on Saturday.

What To Watch For

Take the Lead and Hold it: Texas has done an excellent job coming from behind this season with all of their first 3 wins of the year being decided from a trailing position, in the 7th inning or later. Wednesday was the first game that we saw Texas take a lead and hold it and that kind of performance will be crucial to continue winning games moving forward.

Take Advantage of a Bad Offense: The Rangers pitching staff has notably struggled early on this season only holding their opponent under 3 runs twice this season. The Angels as a club are finding it hard to produce at the plate so far in 2019 only generating more than 3 runs once this year and hitting a combined .178 at the plate. They have a combined OPS of just .481 and have homered just a single time through their first 6 games. Texas pitchers have an opportunity to get some quality innings if they can take advantage of this struggling Angels offense.

Notable Stats

• Jonathan Lucroy is 6 for his first 18 this season which has him hitting .333 so far.
• Mike Trout leads the Angels in OPS through the first 2 series at .892 and has walked 5 times.
• Joey Gallo is now tied for the AL lead in walks with 7 through his first 6 games.
• Nomar Mazara and Elvis Andrus are both hitting .300-plus to open up the year.
• Jose Leclerc has now gone 25.1 innings without allowing an earned run dating back to July 25th of last season.

Injury Report

Luke Farrell (TEX) – jaw surgery; 60-day IL (return TBD)

Scott Heineman (TEX) – left shoulder surgery; 60-day IL (return TBD)

Yohander Mendez (TEX) – left elbow sprain; 60-day IL (out at least until after All-Star break)

Taylor Cole (LAA) – right should soreness; 10-day IL (possible April return)

Andrew Heaney (LAA) – left elbow inflammation; 10-day IL (TBD)

Michael Hermosillo (LAA) – sports hernia surgery; 10-day IL (TBD)

Keynan Middleton (LAA) – TJ surgery in May 2018; 60-day IL (possible June return)

Shohei Otani (LAA) – TJ surgery in October 2018; 10-day IL (possible May return)

JC Ramirez (LAA) – TJ surgery in April 2018; 60-day IL (possible June return)

Nick Topeano (LAA) – right shoulder strain; 10-day IL (TBD)

Justin Upton (LAA) – turf toe in left foot; 10-day IL (possible June return)

Final Round Up and Broadcast Schedule

The Texas Rangers have a great opportunity to open up a nice little winning record during this 4-game series with the Angels. The Rangers biggest weakness which is pitching will have a chance to face an even worse hitting club. Hopefully, Texas can improve their pitching strength while picking up a third straight series win.

Thursday – 9:07 CT; MLBN (TV – out of market) FSSW (TV), 105.3 FM (radio), KLFC 1270 AM (radio)

Friday – 9:07 CT; FSSW (TV), 105.3 FM (radio), KLFC 1270 AM (radio)

Saturday – 3:05 CT; FS1 (TV), FSSW (TV), 105.3 FM (radio), KLFC 1270 AM (radio)

Sunday – 3:07 CT FSSW (TV), 105.3 FM (radio), KLFC 1270 AM (radio)

As always, be sure to follow Nolan Writin’ on Twitter @NolanWritinFS for in-game commentary and updates.