Hector Santiago (2-1, 2.45 ERA) and Nick Martinez (2-0, 0.45 ERA) take the hill in the last of a three-game series between the Los Angeles Angels (9-9) and the Texas Rangers (6-11) at Angel Stadium. The Angels won the last game 4-1 and Los Angeles leads the series 2-0. Action begins at 3:35 p.m. ET on Sunday, Apr. 26 and can be seen on FSN-SW and FSN-W.
Santiago is 4-2 with a 4.00 ERA in his appearances against the Rangers, and goes up against a below-average Texas offense which is batting just .211 this season. Kole Calhoun (.309, 9 Rs, 3 HRs, 10 RBIs) continued his strong play yesterday, going 3 for 4. Martinez is 1-2 with a 2.51 ERA against the Angels in his career. He takes on a below-average Los Angeles offense that’s batting just .219. Prince Fielder (.373, 6 Rs, 1 HR, 10 RBIs) went 1 for 3 yesterday.
Los Angeles is a -147 favorite against Texas and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at eight runs. The Angels have an overall money line of -250 and a record as the favorite of 6-7. Los Angeles has had an impressive season against division opponents, earning 6-4 and 8-6 records as the favorite and SU respectively. Los Angeles’s pitchers put it all together when division rivals are on the field. Its average runs allowed per game drops to 3.5 against fellow AL West members, compared to its 4.0 season average.
In the other locker room, Texas is coming in with an overall money line of -235 and a disappointing record of 5-9 as the underdog. They played poorly as the underdog over their last 10 games with a 3-7 record, and a 3-7 record SU.
The Angels lead the season series, 4-1. The Angels have a bad 1-4 record at home (4-7 overall) against right-handed starting pitchers, which is what they’ll be facing when Martinez takes the mound.
Predictions: SU Winner – LAA, O/U – Over
Notes
When leading after 7 innings, Los Angeles is 4-4, while Texas is 2-8.
The Angels are coming off of a weak pitching game where they recorded six strikeouts. The Rangers have a record of 6-4 when opponents’ pitchers have that many strikeouts or fewer.
It looks like the Angels have a slight leg up on the Rangers, as the Angels have won their last three games while the Rangers have lost their last three.
When they outhit their opponents, the Angels are 6-1. The Rangers have a 4-0 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 18th in runs, Texas has earned 66 this season. Los Angeles ranks 15th with 71 runs.
Los Angeles and Texas both rank in the top half of the league in walks. Los Angeles sits at 15th with 52 this season and Texas ranks 13th with 54.
The Angels are 7-5 when they hit at least one home run. The Rangers perform similarly when they hit one or more homers with a 4-3 record.
