Angels vs. Rangers Odds
| Angels Odds | -140 |
| Rangers Odds | +115 |
| Over/Under | 8 |
| Time | 8:05 p.m. ET |
| TV | MLB.TV |
| Odds via BetMGM. Get up-to-the-minute MLB odds here. | |
The Angels head into Globe Life Field looking to win their fifth consecutive series.
Noah Syndergaard will take the mound for Los Angeles, and his strong early form has been an important part of the Angels finally living up to the hype in the early part of this season.
Meanwhile, Texas has had a disappointing start to the season and has specifically struggled at home, owning a 7-12 record. The Rangers will send Jon Gray to the mound Monday, and he has struggled to a 5.51 ERA and 0-1 record.
Can the Rangers find some offense against Syndergaard and the Angels?
Angels Lineup Continues to Roll
Seeing Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout finally playing on a winning team is a pretty enjoyable story, and I think the Angels are an easy team to root for regardless of fandom.
Ohtani and Trout are the current leaders in the AL MVP race, and both have played a massive role in this excellent Angels offense.
Taylor Ward is putting together an MVP-caliber season at the plate himself, and even though he will obviously come down to earth, this lineup looks more complete than it has in recent history.
The Angels hold the second-best wRC+ of 120 and the third-best wOBA of .329. Los Angeles has been even more deadly against right-handed pitching, owning a +124 wRC+ and .334 wOBA.
Los Angeles is still in the league's top quarter in regard to its xSLG and xwOBA rates, and with the talent on hand and numbers to match, all indicators point to this lineup simply being very good.
Syndergaard has fought back into form to start this 2022 campaign, which has been another pleasant story amongst this suddenly strong Angels group.
Syndergaard has pitched to a 3.69 xERA throughout 29.1 innings pitched — a mark that is significantly beyond his actual ERA of 2.46, but one the Angels would still live with.
Syndergaard is in the bottom quarter of the league with a 17.5% strikeout rate, featuring a notably low spin rate on his fastball. He has pitched to a poor 5.17 QOPA this season as well, and it does seem likely he trends more toward middling results moving forward.
Rangers Due for Positive Regression?
There are surely some easier outs in this Rangers lineup, and Marcus Semien has posted shockingly dreadful results so far. The result has been some disappointing play at the plate, as they have hit to just an 88 wRC+ and .281 wOBA.
The Rangers do appear due for some positive regression, however, as they hold a .422 xSLG rate and a 39.5% hard-hit rate.
Syndergaard has thrown his fastball just 21.9% of the time this season and relies heavily upon his sinker and changeup. That should be an above-average mix for the Rangers, who hold the seventh-best pitch value against the change at +5.2 and the 17th-best rate against the sinker.
Gray pitched steadily against the Yankees last time out and now holds a reasonable 3.84 xERA through 16.1 innings. Given what we saw last season with his 3.95 xERA — and that his stuff, by all indications, is in the same place — he could keep it up as the season progresses.
Angels-Rangers Pick
Gray should trend toward more steady results this season, but even factoring in that he's due for positive regression, I believe this Angels lineup will put together a strong output off him Monday.
Syndergaard is in the opposite boat and seems likely to falter toward more average results moving forward. I think Texas will break through and find some runs against him.
I can see how the Angels look like a really obvious bet in this spot, but I think the chances the Rangers put some runs on the board here could override the perceived pitching edge for Los Angeles
That has me seeing value on over 8 at -110 in this spot, as I believe we should see both teams put on strong offensive showings.
Pick: Over 8 (-110 | Play to -120)
