Texas rolls into the Angel Stadium finale after dropping the first two of the set, including a 5-2 loss Saturday in which Mike Trout went deep and Zach Neto kept doing Zach Neto things at the top of the order. For a 19-34 team, back-to-back wins counts as a heater.
The Rangers lineup is held together with tape right now. No Corey Seager, no Wyatt Langford, no Josh Smith, and Nolan Schanuel limped out of Saturday's game on the Angels side. Josh Jung at least went 3-for-4 in the last win over Colorado, so there's a pulse — but this is not the offense Texas drew up in spring training.
- Day-To-DayJosh Jung 3B — Jung went 3-for-4 with a walk, an RBI and a run scored in Wednesday's 5-4 win over Colorado.
- Day-To-DayMacKenzie Gore SP — Gore (lat) played catch Friday and will be re-evaluated this weekend, MLB.com reports.
- Day-To-DaySebastian Walcott SS — Rangers GM Ross Fenstermaker said Tuesday that Walcott could be ready for game action in August, "if all things according to plan" in his rehab from the internal brace procedure he underwent on his right elbow, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.
- 10-Day-ILCorey Seager SS — Seager (back) was supposed to face live pitching Sunday, but that session has been postponed, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.
- 10-Day-ILCody Freeman 3B — Freeman (back) moved his rehab from the Arizona Complex League to Double-A Frisco on Friday, MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILWyatt Langford LF — Langford will undergo another strength test on his right forearm Wednesday and could begin swinging a bat by Friday, MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILJosh Smith 2B — Smith (lower body/wrist) was diagnosed with viral meningitis Friday and is receiving treatment in a hospital, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILRobert Garcia RP — Garcia (shoulder) began throwing from 80 feet out Friday, Jeff Wilson of AllDLLS.com reports.
- Day-To-DayNolan Schanuel 1B — Schanuel exited Saturday's game against the Rangers with left calf tightness, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
- Day-To-DayChris Taylor CF — Taylor retired from professional baseball Friday, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports.
- Day-To-DayLogan O'Hoppe C — O'Hoppe (head) isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Rangers, Erica Weston of Bally Sports West reports.
- 10-Day-ILYoan Moncada 3B — Moncada isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Athletics, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILTravis d'Arnaud C — D'Arnaud (foot) told reporters Saturday that he does not have a timetable for his return from the 10-day injured list, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILDrew Pomeranz RP — Pomeranz (elbow) tossed a bullpen session Thursday, per MLB.com.
- 60-Day-ILYusei Kikuchi SP — Kikuchi (shoulder) said Wednesday that he's slated to begin a throwing program soon and expressed hope that he'll be able to return to the Angels early in the second half of the season, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILBen Joyce RP — Joyce (shoulder) is currently conducting his rehab program at the Angels' complex in Arizona, MLB.com reports.
Pitching is where this one gets weird. MacKenzie Gore is on the card for Texas despite a lat issue that had him only playing catch Friday, so monitor that closely before first pitch. Reid Detmers counters with a 1-5 record and a 5.07 ERA, which is exactly the kind of line that screams "Rangers offense could either feast or no-show entirely."
The market is doing something interesting here. Pinnacle has the Angels as a massive home favorite at -841 with a 3.5-run spread, while DraftKings is sitting on a 1.5 with Texas as the chalk on the runline. The total is split too — 8.5 at Pinnacle, 7.5 at DK. When sharp and square books disagree this loudly, there's usually a Gore-status story underneath it.
Lean: if Gore actually toes the rubber and the lat holds, Texas has the better arm and enough on-base juice to hang around. If he's scratched, this thing tilts hard toward LA in a hurry. Watch the lineup card the second it drops.