The Los Angeles Angels are tied with the Twins for the second Wild Card spot in the AL East while the Texas Rangers remain one of a handful of teams within striking distance, just a few games back. This series is one that could have major postseason implications with the Halos tried to go on a run and the Rangers looking to close the gap.
This series will be contested from Monday, August 21, 2017 through Thursday, August 24, 2017 at Angels Stadium in Anaheim. The games on Tuesday and Wednesday will both been televised nationally on ESPN.
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Pitching Matchups
The Rangers will start the series off on the right foot, sending Cole Hamels to the mound. With Yu Darvish now in the Los Angeles, Hamels is the Rangers’ unequivocal No.1.
Hamels missed a chunk of the season with injury, but is 8-1 with a 3.48 ERA in his 15 starts. He’s pitched to a 1.108 WHIP and has produced the numbers expected while he’s been healthy.
There is concern for Hamels, however, who has only struck out 62 batters in 98.1 innings and has put up the numbers he has with a low BABIP. His strikeout rate is way down from years past and that’s very alarming.
He’s no longer able to always get the big strikeout when needed. He’s pitched well in some games when he gets the appropriate defensive support, but he has also produced a few bad outings. In his last start, he allowed four runs in six innings though he still managed to get the win. The Rangers are 9-6 with him on the mound.
On the other side, the Angels will counter with their own southpaw: Tyler Skaggs.
Skaggs will be coming off the bereavement list to make the start. It’ll be his third start of the season against the Rangers. The last time he faced Texas at home, he allowed five runs in five innings. He’s 1-3 with a 3.63 ERA overall in his eight innings.
In the second game of the series, Tyson Ross will be pinned against Ricky Nolasco.
Ross is still working on regaining his command after his surgery. He walked six in his last start and threw only 39 of 83 pitches for strikes. Through nine starts, Ross is still not back to form. He’s pitching to an inflated 7.02 ERA.
Nolasco doesn’t have an injury to blame and hasn’t been a whole lot better. The veteran is 6-12 with a 5.16 ERA. He’s leading the league in homers allowed with 31 which is dangerous against the Rangers, a team with plenty of swing and miss, but also plenty of pop. The Rangers launched four homers in two games against Nolasco this year, winning both.
In the final two games of this series, the Rangers turn to Andrew Cashner and Martin Perez. The Angels will counter with Andrew Heaney with the Thursday night start not named.
Wednesday’s matchup may be the most interesting of this series. Cashner has been a great pickup for Texas. He just missed his seventh straight quality start and is 4-2 with a 2.58 ERA since the beginning of July. His 3.31 ERA leads the team though he’s still under .500 at 7-9.
One thing to watch for Cashner is the strikeout rate. Like Hamels, it is way down this year. He’s striking out only 4.6 per nine innings. He’s been inducing a lot of weak contact, but weak contact can still find holes from time-to-time.
On the other side of this matchup, Heaney will be making only his second big league start this season. He allowed five runs over five innings in his return from Tommy John surgery and was touched up for four homers—out of seven total hits—while facing Baltimore.
Heaney’s command will need to get better if the Angels stand a chance against Texas in the third game of this set.
Who's Hot?
Robinson Chirinos has embraced the chance to be the team’s starting catcher. Since the calendar turned to August and Jonathan Lucroy departed for Colorado, Chirinos is batting .351 with a pair of homers in 13 games.
Elvis Andrus continues to hit, too. He’s 17-for-76 in August and is one of four Rangers’ hitters with at least 60 at bats in August and an average north of .300.
On top of that Joey Gallo is teeing off on the opposing pitchers right now. He’s hit 10 of his 35 homers in August and is hitting a respectable .246 this month with a bit less swing and miss. His power surge is a huge part of the Rangers’ recent push back towards relevancy.
Overall, nearly every Ranger has been swinging the bat well recently.
Mike Trout is hot as always for the Angels, but Kole Calhoun is finally heating up. He’s had a terrible season by his standards until recently. Yunel Escobar, C.J. Cron and even Ben Revere have looked good at the plate in August, making Andrelton Simmon’s offensive regression a non-issue as the Angels surge into a potential playoff berth.
Who's Not?
Texas was one of the better rotations much of the year, but the numbers have been going backwards and trading away Darvish didn’t help.
The Rangers’ rotation is susceptible to bad outings given the low strikeout totals. The bullpen is also suspect. Matt Bush is throwing well over the last month, but the names setting up remain a mystery each night.
On the other side, Bud Norris has lost his luster and his spot as the team’s closer. Keynan Middleton has blown a few saves as the closer, too. Cam Bedrosian has looked very good in nine August appearances, allowing four hits in 8.2 innings and going 3-for-3 in save chances.
Offensively, Luis Valbeuna remains lost at the plate aside from when he runs into one for a homer. He’s batting .205 in limited August at-bats. Literally half of his hits have gone over the fence.
Cameron Maybin is also cold right now as is Albert Pujols who is starting to look old. Despite batting .212 with a .257 OBP, Pujols continues to drive in runs in August with 12, second to Trout on the team.
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