It seems to me the wrong team is favored in tonight’s AL West battle between the Angels and Rangers.
Anaheim is clicking on all cylinders right now. They swept the hapless Arizona Diamondbacks which in itself isn’t any great shakes. But the way the Halo’s did it, speaks volumes about how much this club has improved just over the last month. The Angels hit with runners in scoring position and hit for power. They were aggressive on the base paths and they played solid defense.
They got great starting pitching in two of the three games and closer Brian Fuentes was light’s out in his two appearances. Even the Anaheim defense which entered Sunday’s game with the worst bullpen ERA in baseball (5.51) stepped up big in the series finale. The Angels have now won five straight and seem to be playing their baseball of the season just in time for this week’s series against the second-place Rangers.
Texas swept Anaheim in May taking three games and beating Weaver, Lackey and Saunders in that order. However this isn’t the same Texas team. Without the injured Josh Hamilton the offense has struggled. Case in point the once mighty Rangers managed just one hit Sunday against Chad Gaudin of the Padres.
Texas is 3-7 in its last ten games and scored a total of 15 runs in those seven losses. The Angels are 7-3 over that same period in which they scored 12 runs on two different occasions and eleven runs in another
Tonight’s pitching matchup has Angel rookie Sean O’ Sullivan facing Vicente Padilla. O’ Sullivan is 1-0 with an ERA of 3.00 while the veteran Padilla is 6-3 including a 3-0 mark with a 2.16 ERA in his last three outings.
Consider as well that with interleague play in the rear view mirror, Vlad Guerrero returns to the Angels lineup, giving them yet another weapon. If, or is it when, Guerrero regains his power stroke, look out for the Angels.
Nice writeup, Bob. Like the Angels too. Vlad loves playing against Texas. He just destroys their pitching. Angels bats are really hot now and they get to add another bat to the lineup today. GL with your play.
Bob Harvey Monday 6/29
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