Wednesday’s MLB scoreboard is full of games all day from coast to coast, and it closes out with a pair of games from the City of Angels as the Angels and Dodgers are both in action. In Anaheim, the Angels host the Texas Rangers in the third game of their four-game set, a matchup that will be featured on ESPN. Let’s dive into the matchup between these two AL West foes and make a prediction as to how Wednesday’s matchup will play out.
Looking at the odds for tonight, the Rangers are road favorites at -134 on the Moneyline to win outright and hold +114 odds on the -1.5 run line on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Angels have +125 odds of pulling off the upset and getting the win, and the run total is set at 9.0.
Rangers at Angels prediction, preview
The two divisional foes have split the first two games in this series; the Rangers took Game 1, 4-1 in 10 innings on Monday, but the Angels bounced back with a 3-2 win on Tuesday night. The win snapped a three-game skid for the Halos and improved their record to an unimpressive 46-74, the worst in the MLB. With a win on Wednesday, though, they could catch the A’s and Rockies for the worst record in the majors since both those teams begin the day at 47-73 and are facing first-place teams.
On the other side, the loss for Texas on Tuesday dropped the Rangers back to .500 for the year at 60-60. They currently hold the third Wild Card spot in the crazy American League with the Tigers just 1/2 game back and the Twins, Guardians, Orioles and Blue Jays all within 2 1/2 games.
The Angels will give the ball to rookie George Klassen on Wednesday night, whom I highlighted as my top value starting pitcher in my MLB DFS picks for the day. Klassen was very effective in Triple-A, going 3-0 in six starts in July and compiling a 2.48 ERA with a 3.53 FIP, a 0.99 WHIP, and 38 strikeouts in 36 1/3 innings. He only lasted four innings in his return to the majors last week, issuing four walks to the Marlins, but his team won the game 4-3.
Klassen doesn’t have dominant strikeout stuff, but he did a good enough job limiting damage to get a second look this season with the Angels, who are using him in the rotation spot opened by the Jose Soriano trade. With Yusei Kikuchi rejoining the rotation soon, Klassen could be headed back to Triple-A, but he can make a case for keeping his role with a good outing on Wednesday against the Rangers.
He’ll be opposed by right-hander Cal Quantrill, who is 4-4 with a 3.56 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in his 24 games for the Rangers this season. He came out of the bullpen in his most recent appearance, working a scoreless inning against the Orioles, but since the All-Star break, he has allowed 12 runs (10 earned) in 19 1/3 innings for a 4.66 ERA, 4.48 FIP and 1.29 WHIP. Quantrill has been good against righties, but lefties are hitting .263 with six homers and a .338 wOBA against him this season and an even-better .359 wOBA against him when he’s on the road.
The question for this matchup is whether the Angels’ offense can get to Quantrill or not. They have only won four of their last 14 games and have been one of the worst-hitting teams in the majors for most of the season. As a team, the Angels rank in the bottom five in runs scored, ISO, wOBA and wRC+.
The Rangers’ offense hasn’t been much better, but they do rank in the middle of the pack in most categories. Veterans Corey Seager and Joc Pederson have been heating up a little bit more lately, and taking on a right-handed starting pitcher definitely helps those veteran lefties on the strong side of their splits.
The Angels have been mixing in some younger players since the trade deadline, including Moises Ballesteros, whom they acquired from the Cubs. Denzer Guzman and Wade Meckler have also been regulars in the lineup, while rookie lefty Samy Natera Jr. has taken over as closer.
Neither team is all that exciting with their lineups scuffling, so even with shaky pitching, we could get another low-scoring game.
Rangers at Angels pick, best bet
The Rangers have more roster depth overall and a better record; however, the Angels’ young players have given them some things to be optimistic about going forward. Klassen has the potential to be a rotation piece for many years going forward if he can translate his minor-league success to the majors. He’s a much more intriguing option than Quantrill, but the Angels’ offense is also very hard to get behind.
Over the last two weeks, the Rangers have averaged 3.1 runs per game, and the Angels have averaged just 2.3 runs per game. The Rangers have a 73 wRC+ (27% below league average) during that span and the Angels have been even worse with a league-low 52 wRC+ (48% below league average) over that span.
Even with pitchers that are less than dominant, the offenses could once again struggle to create runs. In the first two games of the series, the teams scored a total of five runs in each contest, barely getting over the run total for this single matchup in the first two games total. The pitchers in those games weren’t big-name aces either, but they managed to keep the scoring low.
The Rangers have been under the run total for this game in five of their last six games, and the Angels have been under it in 10 of their last 11. The teams just don’t score many runs, and Quantrill and Klassen have a good chance at being solid enough to keep the struggling offenses quiet on Wednesday night.
Best bet: Under 9 Total Runs (-120)
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