Monday night baseball and we will see the Los Angeles Angels take on the Texas Rangers at Turner Field in Atlanta First pitch is scheduled for a 7:05 PM (Eastern) start time and the game will be televised on ESPN.
Current Odds
Los Angeles +119
Texas -129
Over/ Under: 8 -110
Analysis: Los Angeles has fallen 13 games out of first after dropping the final three of their four-game series with Oakland. They fell 10-6 on Sunday after Albert Pujols was placed on the 15-day disabled list with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, which has plagued him for most of 2013. "This is a big blow to our team right now," Scioscia said. "We have to move forward and find a way to generate offense that will support the good pitching that we need. It's naturally something you would hope could have made it through to the offseason, but it didn't happen and you just have to move on." Jered Weaver has been outstanding this month, going 4-1 while allowing fewer than two runs in four of his five starts - and five of his last six overall. The 30-year-old struck out nine over eight scoreless innings against Minnesota on Wednesday. Elvis Andrus is 23-for-62 (.371) with two homers against Weaver, who is 13-8 with a 3.75 ERA in 31 career outings against the Rangers.
The Texas Rangers haven’t scored in their last 21 innings, but they might find the perfect remedy Monday as they begin a three-game series against the fading Los Angeles Angels. Texas, which has lost 12 of its last 15 contests to fall six games behind first-place Oakland in the American League West. Texas manager Ron Washington held a 40-minute closed-door meeting after his team was shut out for the third time in four games on Sunday. “I didn’t see what I thought were the Texas Rangers today,” Washington said. First baseman Mitch Moreland is mired in a 2-for-36 slump, and Washington indicated that he’ll be rested for two of the next three games. Matt Garza made a superb first impression with his new team on Wednesday against the Yankees, yielding one unearned run over 7 1/3 innings in the Rangers’ 3-1 victory. The 29-year-old, who was acquired from the Chicago Cubs on July 22, has gone 6-0 with a 1.23 ERA in his last six starts. He faced the Angels on June 13, when he allowed four runs over 6 1/3 frames.
Pick: This is normally a high scoring series, but I see it a bit different tonight. Jered Weaver has been on fire of late, allowing 0 ER's in his last 2 starts and 1 or less ER's in 5 of his last 6 starts. He did struggle vs the Rangers back in early April, but he had allowed 3 ER's or less in his previous 4 starts vs them, plus that was at a time in which Texas was hitting the ball. They are not hitting the ball these days. The Rangers come in having been shut out in the 2 straight games and 3 of their last 4 games and they have averaged just 2.5 rpg in their last 10 games. The Halos offense hasn't been much better over that stretch, averaging just 3.2 rpg and they will be taking on an equally hot pitcher in Matt Garza. Matt comes in having posted a 1.06 ERA in his last 6 starts, between being a Cub and a Ranger. He has 1 start as a Rangers and allowed 0 ER's in 7.1 innings in that game and he will be facing an Angels lineup that will be without Pujols. Jered Weaver's games have averaged just 6 rpg overall with the Under going 11-2 in his starts, while his road starts have averaged just 6.2 rpg with the Under going 4-1 in those starts. This has all the makings of a pitchers duel tonight.
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