Texas has won 13 of left-hander C.J. Wilson’s 19 starting assignments.
The Los Angeles Angels play at the Texas Rangers Friday night in a key AL West battle. This is the second of 14 meetings between the teams after the All-Star break.
The Rangers (55-40) soared into the AL West lead with a 21-6 June record. They hit a speed bump to begin July (going 3-8), but are 5-2 to start the second half pending Thursday night’s opener. Texas leads Los Angeles by five games and Oakland by seven.
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Texas has a 31-19 home record, but is a minus 4.6 units there. The team last played at home before the All-Star break, dropping four straight to lowly Baltimore despite ranging from 198 to 380 favorites.
The Angels (51-46) also began July at 3-8, with the offense only mustering 2.7 runs per game. They’re 4-2 post-break and the bats have woken up at 5.8 runs per contest.
Los Angeles is just 2-8 in its last 10 road games, with a split at the Yankees the only two after the break.
Joe Saunders (6-9, 4.83 ERA) gets the call for Los Angeles. He had a similar ERA (4.60) last year, but was able to go 16-7 due to tremendous run support.
Saunders has been very inconsistent since June 1, having a couple of good starts followed by two poor ones. His ERA is 6.94 the last two outings, which means he’s due for a good start if the trend continues.
The 29-year-old lefty hasn’t faced the Rangers this year, but is just 3-6 with a 7.19 ERA lifetime against them. He’s 0-5 all-time at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington with a huge 11.68 ERA. Texas is 12-5 in its last 17 games versus a left-handed starter.
C.J. Wilson (8-5, 3.23 ERA) will go for Texas. He’s been one of the most consistent pitchers in baseball, not allowing more than three earned runs in his last nine starts. Texas went 7-2 in those games.
Wilson worked exclusively out of the bullpen the last four years. His strikeout rate (6.92) has come down as a starter, but the Rangers don’t mind with these results. His home ERA (3.54) is higher than away (2.82). However, Texas is 8-3 in his home starts and 5-3 away.
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The 29-year-old lefty is 1-3 with a 5.27 ERA lifetime against Los Angeles. He had his worst start this year against the Angels. He surrendered seven runs in 4 1/3 innings on May 18, although Texas still won 8-7 at home.
Wilson allowed two earned runs over 5 2/3 innings at the Angels on July 1. The offense couldn’t back him up, losing 2-1.
Texas took both home meetings this year and is 8-3 in the last 11 at home versus L.A. Texas went 1-2 in the recent series in Anaheim.
Los Angeles is still trying to make up for the season-ending loss of first baseman Kendry Morales (ankle). Washington’s Adam Dunn is one of the names being mentioned. Milwaukee’s Prince Fielder is another, although he’s less likely with another year left on his deal.
Texas doesn’t have one position player on the DL. The recent acquisition of Cliff Lee allows the team to take its time with Rich Harden (strained glute).
First pitch for Friday is 5:05 p.m. (PT). Weather will be typical for this time of year in Texas, over 90 degrees with some humidity.