Angels vs. Rangers prediction and odds for Wednesday, Aug. 16 (Nail in the coffin)

The first-place Texas Rangers are burying the fourth place Los Angeles Angels. After dropping the first two of this series the Angels are 59-62 and eight games out of the final Wild Card spot. It looks like they are out of it and Texas completing the sweep today could be the final nail in the coffin. 

The Angels will send Reid Detmers to the mound to make his 22nd start of the season. He will enter with a 2-9 record and a 5.27 ERA. Detmers will be opposed by Jon Gray who is 8-5 in 21 starts for Texas with a 3.65 ERA. 

The Rangers are going for the sweep and they’re home favorites in this one. 

Angels vs. Rangers odds, run line and total

Angels vs. Rangers prediction and pick

Texas is favored for good reason. They’re great against left-handed pitchers like Detmers. Even without Josh Jung who had a 1.017 OPS against lefties before his injury, they still have three hitters with an OPS over .900 and more than 50 at-bats, Corey Seager, Adolis Garcia and Ezequiel Duran.

Since July 1, they have fallen off a bit, but still a .792 team OPS and 118 wRC+ against lefties. 

Reid Detmers should be an easy left-hander for the Rangers to beat up on. Though in his two starts against Texas this year he’s only allowed four total runs over 10 innings. Detmers also has a FIP of 4.31 which is a very good sign for him going forward.

However, he’s allowed five homers over his last two starts, so I don’t feel great about positive regression coming his way. 

The Angels have a run differential of -20 this season and an expected win/loss of 59-62, so they’re exactly where they should be after a surprisingly strong start to the year. This was a team that overachieved and that didn’t last.

The Rangers have also exceeded expectations, but the numbers back up that they’re one of the best teams in baseball. I’ll trust Texas and I think they get the sweep today with a convincing win. 

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