MLB: Texas Rangers vs Los Angeles Angels Series Odds Preview
Rangers Fresh off Sweep of Tampa, Angels Out of Race Early
The Texas Rangers (42-48) are the defending World Series champions but have yet to find the stride that helped them to their first title last season. The Rangers are just six games behind the Seattle Mariners in the American League West but need to start winning in chunks because a wild card berth is less likely. They’ll face the Los Angeles Angels (37-52) who have dropped six of their last seven games and are looking toward 2025. The Rangers open the series as a -142 road favorite in game one with a total of 8.5 (over -120). Game one first pitch is scheduled for 9:38 p.m. ET / 6:38 p.m. PT and can be seen on Bally Sports Southwest, Bally Sports West, and MLB Network. Let’s start our Rangers vs Angels series odds preview with a game one preview.
Rangers vs Angels
Date & Time: Monday, July 8th, 9:38 pm ET
Location: Angel Stadium
Monday: Jon Gray (Tex) 304, 3.92 vs Davis Daniel (LAA) 1-1, 2.70
Early betting patterns show that about three-quarters (75%) of the money will be on the Texas Rangers with 71% of the tickets. This has been enough to inspire bookmakers to raise the moneyline from a consensus -144 to -146, but at some individual books we’ve seen a movement as much as six cents, so if you’re going to bet the Rangers we’d recommend that you get on it now. On the injury front, we wanted to remind bettors that third baseman Luis Rengifo will not be in the lineup because of right wrist inflammation after fouling a ball off his lower right arm.
He had an MRI on Friday before being placed on the 10-day IL. That’s another massive loss for the Angels who experienced early losses of Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon. Taking a .315 batting average and 22 stolen bases out of the order is a devastating blow to a team that has struggled to score runs all season. Jon Gray is coming off a couple of below-average starts against the San Diego Padres (4IP, 7H, 3 ER, 2BB, 2K, 1HR) and the Baltimore Orioles (5IP, 9H, 8 ER, 1BB, 1K, 2 HR).
Daniel will be making the third start of his career after getting walloped against the Oakland Athletics in a 5-0 loss (5.1IP, 7H, 4 ER, 1BB, 3K, 2Â HR). Our free MLB expert pick recommends looking at the under in game one.
Tuesday: Max Scherzer (Tex) 1-2, 2.70 vs TBA (LAA)
We know that 3-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer will get the ball in this one, but when we’re not sure who his mound opponent will be, we’ll have to wait until closer to Tuesday to make an official selection. Scherzer will be making his fourth start after being activated off the IL late in June.
He has yet to have a poor outing, allowing just 11 hits in 16.2 innings with three walks and 11 strikeouts. Despite the boost to the Ranger staff, Texas is just 1-2 when Scherzer starts after giving their 8-time all-star just six runs of support. We assume Texas will be the favorite and that has always been a good spot to bet on Scherzer after cashing tickets in 49 of his last 70 games (+8.55) since 2021. Even better is his 26-7 record as a road favorite (+8.82) and 36-12 (+9.87) since 2019. If the Rangers are focused on climbing up the MLB standings in 2024, they must win a series like this.
Wednesday: Michael Lorenzen (Tex) 5-4, 3.21 vs Griffen Canning (LAA) 3-9, 4.87
If the numbers hold, this should be the highest MLB score of the series but in the case of Michael Lorenzen, the righty is hoping to build off a sensational outing against the Tampa Bay Rays three days ago when he threw five innings of one-hit ball 0 earned, 5 BB, 4K) in a 3-0 Texas win.
Over his last five starts, Lorenzen has given up 18 hits in his previous 28 innings to go with a 3.53 era while giving up five homers. Griffen Canning has one solid outing in his last five starts which is why his recent form shows the former gold glove winner with a 5.40 ERA to go with a 1-3 record.
The Angles are just 6-12 when the former UCLA star gets the start while supporting him with 3.52 runs per game. In his 18 starts this season, Los Angeles has given Canning one or fewer runs seven times. We recommend looking at the under in this match-up. That does it for our Rangers vs Angels odds preview, we wish you all the best with your wager this week.
