The Los Angeles Angels are rolling into Globe Life Field tonight at 7:05 PM EDT, presumably hoping their bats can do the heavy lifting because their rotation is currently doing a very convincing impression of a sinking ship. Ryan Johnson gets the nod for the visitors, and with a 6.41 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP, he’s less of a starting pitcher and more of a high-stakes stress test for the Angels' bullpen. Meanwhile, the Rangers will counter with Cody Bradford, who is sporting a much more respectable 2.93 ERA—a stat that looks like a statistical miracle compared to what the Angels are dragging onto the mound.
Texas enters this one as the -160 favorite, and frankly, it’s hard to argue with the math when the Angels are batting a pedestrian .235 and nursing a laundry list of day-to-day ailments like Wade Meckler and Nolan Schanuel. Both teams are hovering in the same zip code of mediocrity regarding team ERA—4.30 for the Angels and 4.21 for the Rangers—but the home side’s slight edge in hitting and a functioning starter gives them the clear advantage at the book. With the total set at 8.0, do you trust the offenses to wake up, or are we in for a long night of watching pitchers sweat? Drop your pick over on StreakChat and let’s see who’s actually watching this.