Tyler Skaggs (3-3, 4.71 ERA) and Yu Darvish (5-4, 3.45 ERA) take the hill in the first of a three-game series between the Los Angeles Angels (62-77) and the Texas Rangers (83-58) at Angel Stadium. Action begins at 10:05 p.m. ET on Friday, Sep. 9 and can be seen on FSSW and FSW.
Skaggs pitched 6.0 innings in his most recent start, surrendering three runs, striking out seven and walking one in a 10-3 win over the Mariners. C.J. Cron (.286, 44 Rs, 16 HRs, 62 RBIs, 1 SB) went 1 for 4 Wednesday with one run, one home run, and one RBI. Darvish went 4.0 innings, surrendering five runs, striking out four and walking three in a 7-6 defeat to the Astros in his last outing. Carlos Beltran (.300, 68 Rs, 27 HRs, 86 RBIs) has been successful at the plate for the Rangers, going 2 for 4 yesterday with one run and one RBI.
Notes
When leading after seven innings, Texas is 41-28, while Los Angeles is 26-33.
The Rangers managed to give up five walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Angels who are heading in with a 12-9 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
When they outhit their opponents, the Angels are 50-12. The Rangers have a 57-9 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 16th, Los Angeles is in the bottom half of the league in runs, scoring 627 this season. Texas ranks in the top 10 at sixth with 685.
Ranking 15th, Los Angeles is in the top half of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.741). Texas ranks in the top 10 at ninth with an OPS of .765.
The Rangers are 50-48 in games where they allow one or more home runs. The Angels are 35-62 when they allow at least one homer.
