Elvis Andrus and the surging Texas Rangers are preparing to take the field against their AL West foe Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim in a Friday night game. Fox Sports Southwest will broadcast the action. The game is scheduled to get underway at 10:07 p.m. ET.
Texas Rangers vs. Los Angeles Angels Odds
Los Angeles (-125) is the favorite over Texas (+115) and oddsmakers have set the Over/Under for this game at 8.5 runs (-115 for the over and -105 for the under). There’s a runline of Rangers +1.5 (-180) and Angels -1.5 (+160) for this matchup.
The Rangers are 5-2 SU and have gone 5-1 against the spread (ATS). They’ve gained 4.7 units for moneyline bettors in the season’s early going and 4.0 units ATS. The Angels, on the other hand, are 1-6 SU and 3-3 ATS. The team has lost 4.2 units for moneyline bettors and 0.6 units ATS.
Angels games have an over/under record of 0-5-1 so far in 2019. The Rangers have an over/under record of 4-2.
The right-handed Lance Lynn (0-0, 11.12 ERA) will get the nod for the visiting Rangers. Lynn struck out 161 hitters over 156 innings last year (29 starts) while finishing the season 10-10 overall with a 4.77 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. He made two starts against the Angels in 2018 and compiled a 0-0 record against them with a 4.22 ERA and 10 strikeouts.
The Halos will be turning to righty Felix Pena (0-1, 9.82 ERA), who struck out 85 hitters in 92 innings last year (17 starts), while finishing the season 3-5 overall with a 4.18 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. He recorded two starts against Texas a year ago and compiled a 1-0 record with a 2.08 ERA and nine strikeouts.
Texas’ pitchers have allowed 5.4 runs per game and its starters own a 6.25 ERA, 1.86 WHIP and 7.11 K/9. The bullpen has logged an ERA of 4.31, along with a K/9 of 6.89.
Rangers hitters have slashed .257/.356/.478 on their way to 6.4 runs scored per game this season, including over the team’s last five outings (4-1 SU).
Shortstop Elvis Andrus and third baseman Asdrubal Cabrera have led Texas’ hitters. Andrus is slashing .414/.433/.552 with 12 hits, five RBIs and five runs scored, while Cabrera has a .269 average with seven hits, three homers, seven RBIs and six runs scored.
For the home team, Los Angeles’ pitchers have yielded 4.4 runs per game overall this season. The club’s starting pitching staff has an ERA of 6.49, a WHIP of 1.41 and a strikeouts-per-nine of 5.2. The bullpen has a solid ERA of just 2.31, a WHIP of 1.24 and a K/9 of 9.3. In seven divisional games, Angels starters have an ERA of 6.49 and the bullpen’s ERA is 2.31.
Los Angeles’ hitters are putting up 2.4 runs per outing, including 2.2 per game over their last five. The team’s hit .178/.243/.276 over its last five games and is 0-5 SU during that span.
Mike Trout and Kole Calhoun have led the Angels’ batters so far. Trout is slashing .350/.517/.600 with seven hits, four RBIs and two runs scored, while Calhoun’s line sits at .214/.267/.500 with six hits, three RBIs and four runs scored.
The Rangers have gained 4.4 units and are 4-0 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher this season. The over has hit in two of those games, compared to two that’ve hit the under in such games. On the other hand, the Angels have lost 2.1 units and are 2-2 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher. The over has hit in zero of those games, as opposed to three that’ve cashed the under.
Rangers vs. Angels Pick
Predictions: SU Winner – Angels, ATS Winner – Rangers, O/U – UNDER
Betting Notes
- The Angels went 13-6 SU against the Rangers last season.
- The Rangers have won five of their last six games SU.
- The Rangers’ bullpen posted an ERA of 3.24 against the Angels last year.
- The Rangers have a team OPS of .834 this season and an OPS of .804 against right-handed pitchers. The Angels’ OPS stands at .531 overall and their left / right split is nearly identical.
