It is time to get back to playing baseball. We are all privy to the tumultuous off-field drama the Angels players have been subjected to over the course of the last week. It has been a nightmare, and nothing short of incredibly unfair to the players themselves. So if ever a three game road series in Texas was welcomed by the 25 guys in the Halos clubhouse, this has to be it.
Yes, we also all know the continued Josh Hamilton story awaits the Angels upon their arrival. But at this point, that mess seems miniscule. Just another gnat in the swarm that has been persistently hovering around the Halos heads. The players themselves should have no problem swatting that away and focusing on the job at hand. Which despite all the distractions surrounding them, is winning their fourth consecutive three game series. Punch the clock and get back to work boys.
Awaiting our Angels in Arlington will be the obscene Texas heat, and some even hotter Ranger bats. The Halo hurler first slated to cool down one of the most potent lineups in the American League will be staff ace Garrett Richards. The stud right-hander from Oklahoma will have his hands full tonight, but is coming off four straight quality starts. Richards earned the win in 3 of those starts. Regardless of who he is facing, each time Richards takes the mound the Angels have a great chance to win. This will be the second time Richards has faced Texas this year, he beat them in Anaheim back in April giving up two runs in seven innings. He’ll look for that same type of line tonight in Arlington.
Left handed power hitters Prince Fielder, Mitch Moreland,and Josh Hamilton will certainly have other ideas. Fielder is having an MVP type season for Texas and is showing why GM Jon Daniels brought him and his 200 million dollar contract to Dallas from Detroit. Prince is hitting .345 with 12 HR’s and 18 doubles. The big man is mashing.
In addition to Fielder’s talents in the Ranger lineup, nobody in baseball seems to be hotter than Mitch Moreland right now. Moreland already has two multi-homerun games this week, having hit two bombs a piece in two of three games against the Orioles in Baltimore. That gives him 14 homeruns on the year to go along with his .298 batting average and .889 OPS. Be careful when you pitch to Mitch.
Our old friend and new ultra-foe Josh Hamilton has returned from another DL stint just in time to face his former team. We’re all aware Josh is capable of anything at anytime. Cough, cough. Lets just say with the way things have been going for the Angels organization lately it would not be surprising AT ALL to see Hamilton star in this series. Brace yourselves.
Opposing Garrett Richards tonight will be rookie right-hander Chi Chi Gonzalez (2-3, 2.59). At home in Arlington, Gonzalez sports a respectable 1-1 record with a 3.66 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. His emergence has been a boon for the Rangers rotation who always seem to get it done in the batters box but more often than not have issues in their starting five. Like many young pitchers, keeping opposing hitters off the base paths via the walk has been a bit of an issue for Gonzalez. Angels hitters will be best served to be patient at the plate against Gonzalez and hope to run his pitch count up and of course punish any mistakes he makes. When runners are in scoring position, they’ll no doubt need to do better than the 0-23 mark they sported in their series against the Yankees. No pressure boys, only one hit with a guy on second or third in the next three games would be an improvement over that.
On paper, the weekend pitching match-ups look pretty good for the Angels. Looking to negate the left-handed power in the Rangers lineup will be lefties Hector Santiago on Saturday and former Texas Ranger CJ Wilson on Sunday. Santiago has been saving the Angels bacon all year long with his 2015 pitching performances. He seems to finally be putting it all together on the mound. He has always had an excellent arm and good power stuff, but managing his emotions and sharpening his mental approach seems to be the difference for Hector this year. He’s pretty much been a God-send for the Angels thus far in 2015.
Santiago will oppose fellow left-hander Wandy Rodriguez. The 36 year old is very hittable, albeit relatively effective. It has been nearly a month since Rodriguez had a quality start in his home park. You can bet the Angels will stack right handed hitters against Wandy in this one. Trout, Pujols, Cron, Freese and the rest of the boys will have their sights set on the outfield seats in this one.
There’s no denying that CJ’s best years in MLB came as a Ranger. He will try to discover some of that past success in Arlington when he opposes veteran right hander Colby Lewis. This one really could go either way. Gauging what might happen here is pretty much impossible. Both of these pitchers are capable of shutting down opposing lineups, and each can also do his fair share of tossing beach balls up there to the hitters they’re facing.
One thing to look for in this series from the Rangers that not many people are taking note of is the return of Delino Deshields Jr. Deshields has been on the DL with a hamstring injury but looks set to return sometime this weekend. Deshields feasts on left handed pitching and getting him back in the fold couldn’t come at a better time for Texas with Santiago and Wilson going for the Angels. This kid is fun to watch. Even though he wears a Rangers uniform, he is someone for Angels fans to keep an eye on. His speed is electric and he is blur on the base-paths.
All in all, it wouldn’t matter who the Angels played this weekend. There is no doubt the players just want to get back to playing baseball. The distractions will still be there, but at the end of the day this team still has games to play and games to win. It starts tonight, and tonight can’t come soon enough for this Angels ball club.
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