For many baseball fans, the highlight of the weekend was the announcement of the All-Star team rosters. With all that fanfare going on, it was easy to forget that there were still a lot of important games being played. We are now beyond the midway point of the current MLB season, which means that we have reached the point where every game becomes huge and the playoff race really starts to heat up. While teams can get away with some sloppy moments in the first half of the season, there needs to be consistency for every team heading down the stretch.
The LA Angels and the Texas Rangers are still in the hunt in the American League Wild Card race, with the Rangers giving up an opportunity to put some extra heat on the Astros at the top of the AL West over the weekend. They will look to get back on track this week when they open up the new week with a series against the LA Angels. The Rangers are in as a 1 ½ run home favorite for the Monday game, with the run total set at 10 ½.
Angels vs Rangers MLB Lines, Game Info & Prediction
- When: Monday, July 1 at 8:05 PM EST
- Where: Yankee Stadium, NYC
- Starting Pitchers: Suarez vs. Minor
- TV: MLB Extra Innings
- Radio: 105.3 The Fan
- Live Stream: MLB.tv
- MLB Lines: Texas Rangers -160 (Total 10.5)
Top MLB Betting Picks of the Week – July 1st Edition
Why bet on the LA Angels?
If it going to be a high level of consistency that moves teams forward in the second half, then the LA Angels have some work to do. They have struggled to be consistent all season long, with their most recent stretch of games serving as the perfect snapshot of their season. After reeling off 4 straight wins last week, the Angels then closed out the week by dropping 3 games in a row to the Oakland A’s.
That run has once again dropped the Angels below .500 at 42-43, while also leaving them 11 games off the pace in the division. While they are still close in the Wild Card at 4 ½ games back, there are several teams sitting ahead of them right now. The Angels are 20-22 on the road and will start Jose Suarez (2-1, 5.57 ERA) in this one.
Team Stats
Offense- Runs: 4.99
- Hits: 8.85
- Walks: 3.60
- Strike Outs: 6.65
- Runs: 5.01
- Hits: 8.34
- Walks: 3.48
- Strike Outs: 8.75
Why bet on the Texas Rangers?
The Rangers were very much in the process of making the race for the AL West a good deal more interesting with a solid run of form, but they ended up losing a little ground by losing back to back games to close out the weekend. Despite those losses, the Rangers are still a pretty solid 7-3 in their last 10 games, which has them sitting 6 ½ games back of the Astros at the top of the West.
As far as the Wild Card goes, the Rangers are still in possession of the final spot there, although just a half game up on the chasing pack. Texas have been very good in their own ballpark this year, going 28-15 SU, although just 8-11 ATS as a home favorite. It will be Mike Minor (8-4, 2.40 ERA) who gets the start in this one.
Team Stats
Offense- Runs: 5.43
- Hits: 8.69
- Walks: 3.55
- Strike Outs: 9.86
- Runs: 5.00
- Hits: 9.18
- Walks: 3.46
- Strike Outs: 8.44
How to Bet Brewers vs Reds MLB Spread & Expert Pick
Angels vs Rangers MLB Betting Trends
- Angels are 1-4 SU in their last 5 games against an opponent in the American League
- The total has gone OVER in 12 of LA Angels’ last 18 games against an opponent in the American League West division
- Rangers are 6-2 SU in their last 8 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 14 of Texas’ last 20 games at home
- Angels are 45-80 against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons
- Rangers are 46-38 against the money line in all games this season
- 7 of 10 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL this season
- Minor is 3-0 when starting against LA ANGELS with an ERA of 2.03 and a WHIP of 1.161
Expert Pick & Final Score Prediction for Angels vs Rangers
Both of these teams ended last week on a bit of a sour note, so both will be looking to get back to a positive run of form here. Their regular season series is tied at 5-5, and I like the Rangers to move ahead in that series with the win.
Score: LA Angels 3 – Texas Rangers 5
