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Los Angeles Angels vs. Texas Rangers Preview: Shohei Ohtani takes the mound for the Halos
The Los Angeles Angels will attempt to avoid being swept by the Texas Rangers tonight. After taking the first two games of the series, the Rangers have a big task at hand. They face reigning MVP Shohei Ohtani tonight. It's always entertaining when Ohtani pitches and hits for himself on the same night, so grab a beer and enjoy the game!
Below, you will find a brief preview of each team followed by a prediction for the game.
Los Angeles Angels preview:
"TROUTY FOR THE LEAD" - @ Angels
The Los Angeles Angels have started the season off well with a 24-15 record, despite dropping their last two games to the Texas Rangers. There's no better way to get the team back on track than to send reigning American League MVP Shohei Ohtani to the mound to start this contest. Ohtani has been pretty good on the mound this season, with a 3-2 record and 2.78 ERA. The only outing Ohtani struggled in was his last appearance against this Rangers lineup. This seems like a revenge spot for Ohtani. Since that start, Ohtani has turned in four quality starts and three wins on the hill. Offensive talent for the Angels starts with Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon, and Jared Walsh. These four have led this LA lineup to the seventh highest team batting average in the MLB. The key to victory for the Angels tonight is to get a quality start from Shohei Ohtani and timely offensive production from their superstar hitters.
Texas Rangers preview:
"Let's sweep." - @ Rangers
The Rangers have started the year just about as everyone expected: mediocre. Texas landed two superstars during free agency: Corey Seager and Marcus Semien. However, the pitching staff hasn't been good enough to consistently produce wins. Dane Dunning starts tonight's game for the Rangers. Dunning has a 1-2 record this season, with a 4.06 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP (walks/hits per inning pitched). He is coming off of an outing that saw him give up five runs to the Boston Red Sox. Dunning has faced this Angels lineup once this year, and gave up two earned runs on six hits allowed in 3.2 innings of work. The Texas offense has performed just as poorly as a unit, where their .219 batting average has them ranked 27th in the MLB. To beat the Los Angeles Angels tonight, the Rangers will need to find a way to manufacture runs off of Shohei Ohtani.
Pick/Prediction: Angels F5 -0.5 (-110)
Love the value the Angels have on their first five run line! Ohtani will be on the mound, and the Angels offense has a great matchup with Dunning. Expect the Angels to jump out to an early lead and not look back! Let's go Halos!
