Coming off a tough loss against the Toronto Blue Jays, the Angels welcome in the Rangers tonight, with Texas coming off a dramatic late game win in Oakland. Texas' lead in the division is now four games going into the four-game set.
It just doesn't get much better than that.
With 10 games against the Rangers still on the docket, the Halos are still very much in control of their own destiny, even if they fail to, let's say sweep their division rivals this week. But the lead is the highest it's been in nearly a month, and the Angels are failing to get that extra push to bring them within reach of surpassing, or even approaching Texas in the standings. This week can change all of that.
A sweep, and the Angels would, for the first time since May, be a first place team. On the other hand, a sweep for the Rangers would make the lead a daunting and, most likely, an insurmountable eight games. A split, and we're right back where we started—the Angels' chances of making this race a competitive one still up in the air.
With Ervin Santana and Cy Young Award candidate Jared Weaver not pitching until Games 3 and 4 of the series, tonight's game will be even more important for Los Angeles.
The first game will feature Texas' Alexi Ogando against Garrett Richards. This is a difficult matchup for Richards, this being just the second game in the majors for the 23-year-old right-hander. He'll be in the thick of an important and dramatic division series opener late in the season.
With Ogando coming off one of his worst starts of the year, however, Richards may find a better fate than in his first big league game last week in New York.
It will be the Rangers' Derek Holland against Tyler Chatwood in Game 2. Both are very similar in numbers and performance, which should make an interesting matchup.
The third game may be the best of the series, with Texas ace C.J. Wilson going up against Santana, who is coming off his fifth straight win last week—a complete game performance against Toronto.
And finally, in Game 4, Weaver will try to improve upon his first start since returning from suspension. He goes up against Colby Lewis, who has steadily become a dependable arm in the Texas rotation.
Texas trails the season series 5-4 and have won just four of their last 15 games at Angel Stadium. But all it takes is a few good swings, a few good plays and a few good pitches to push the Halos from their current striking distance.
At the least, the Angels need to do everything in their power to make sure that doesn't happen.
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