Angels take 4-game skid into matchup with Rangers
Texas Rangers (24-23, second in the AL West) vs. Los Angeles Angels (22-27, fourth in the AL West)
Anaheim, California; Friday, 10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Rangers: Drew Smyly (0-3, 6.51 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, 31 strikeouts) Angels: Griffin Canning (2-1, 3.80 ERA, .84 WHIP, 18 strikeouts)
BOTTOM LINE: Los Angeles enters the matchup as losers of their last four games.
The Angels are 5-14 against teams from the AL West. The Los Angeles pitching staff has a team ERA of 5.08, Matt Harvey paces the staff with a mark of 7.50.
The Rangers are 14-15 in division play. Texas has slugged .478, good for second in the American League. Joey Gallo leads the team with a .699 slugging percentage, including 27 extra-base hits and 15 home runs. This is the first meeting of the season for these two teams.
TOP PERFORMERS: Tommy La Stella leads the Angels with 12 home runs and is batting .308. Mike Trout is 11-for-37 with three doubles, two home runs and three RBIs over the last 10 games for Los Angeles.
Shin-Soo Choo leads the Rangers with 49 hits and has 19 RBIs. Rougned Odor is 9-for-35 with two doubles, four home runs and 10 RBIs over the last 10 games for Texas.
LAST 10 GAMES: Angels: 4-6, .287 batting average, 5.52 ERA, outscored by 10 runs
Rangers: 7-3, .314 batting average, 5.11 ERA, outscored opponents by six runs
Angels Injuries: JC Ramirez: 60-day IL (elbow), Keynan Middleton: 60-day IL (elbow), Andrew Heaney: 10-day IL (elbow), Luis Garcia: 10-day IL (back), Justin Upton: 60-day IL (toe), Michael Hermosillo: 10-day IL (groin), Andrelton Simmons: 10-day IL (left ankle sprain), Shohei Ohtani: day-to-day (finger), Kevan Smith: 7-day IL (concussion).
Rangers Injuries: Edinson Volquez: 60-day IL (elbow), Yohander Mendez: 60-day IL (elbow), Taylor Hearn: 10-day IL (elbow), Luke Farrell: 60-day IL (jaw), Scott Heineman: 60-day IL (shoulder), Willie Calhoun: 10-day IL (quad), Elvis Andrus: 10-day IL (hamstring).
