Series Preview: Rangers @ Angels (Average?)

Angels 71-72
Rangers 61-82

The Angels and Rangers last met exactly one week ago. In that series, the Angels took 2 of 3 games with an overall score of 14 to 8. Over their last 10 games (since Pujols went on the DL), the Angels have a 7-3 record.

Aside from smashing the Twins last Sunday, the Rangers have had a rough time lately and have lost 10 of their last 13 games.

With a sweep, the Angels could get their heads above .500 but they may be sitting right at that mark after this series is over.

Know your foe:

Rangers - who’s hot (last 7 days):

Adrian Beltre .458 OBP, 4 home runs, 7 RBIs
Nomar Mazara .417 OBP, 3 doubles, 6 RBIs

Weather Forecast

GAME 1

Jaime Barria(R) (3.30 ERA) v. Mike Minor(L) (4.31 ERA)
Monday, September 10th @ 7:07PM

Pitcher vs. Batters

Notable Stats

Summary:

Jaime Barria hasn’t allowed a run over his past 11 innings and 2 starts. Barria has been lights out against Texas this year in 4 starts. He’s allowed just 2 runs in 21 innings along with 19 Ks. Over his last 6 starts, Barria holds a 4-1 record and 1.85 ERA.

Pitch Arsenal:

Mike Minor beat the Angels last week, allowing 2 runs and 3 hits over 5 innings. He has a 2.91 ERA over his last 7 starts.

Pitch Arsenal:

Verdict: Should be a good pitching matchup the way these guys have been throwing lately. Barria has been just a bit better perhaps, giving him a slight edge.

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GAME 2

TBD v. Adrian Sampson(R) (54.00 ERA)
Tuesday, September 11th @ 7:07PM

Summary:

The Angels haven’t announced their Tuesday night starter as of this writing.

Adrian Sampson’s ERA might look bad, but he’s only pitched 0.1 innings this year. For AAA Round Rock he had a 3.77 ERA and 85 Ks over 126.2 innings. Sampson’s scouting report pegs him as a 4/5 starters with pretty average stuff.

Pitch Arsenal:

Verdict: Sampson will be making his big league debut but the Angels pitching was solid last week. They can pull this one off if the hold strong from last week.

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GAME 3

Felix Pena(R) (4.04 ERA) v. Yovani Gallardo(R) (6.22 ERA)
Wednesday, September 12th @ 7:07PM

Pitcher vs. Batters

Notable Stats

Summary:

Felix Pena will be making his first start against the Rangers. He’s coming off back to back starts of 7 innings each, in which he allowed 12 hits and 3 runs. He has a 2.53 ERA over his list 5 starts along with 33 Ks in 32 innings.

Pitch Arsenal:

Yovani Gallardo started his season with the Red and landed on the Rangers in June. He beat the Angels back on August 19th with 2 runs allowed over 6 innings. Other than that, his season isn’t going all that well and historically the Angels have hit well off him.

Pitch Arsenal:

Verdict: Pena has the much better shot in this one.

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Overall Verdict: Monday’s game may be the toughest so if the Angels can pull that one off, they have a chance of a sweep. They should win at least 2 in this series.

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