Sunday Night Baseball: Rangers vs. Angels
It is a busy day on the diamond for this holiday weekend Sunday, but we still have a Sunday Night Baseball game on Peacock to finish out the day. In fact, the schedule started on Peacock with Pirates vs. Blue Jays and will end with Rangers vs. Angels. MacKenzie Gore and Reid Detmers are the listed starters here in one of three games on the slate with two left-handed starters.
See how others are wagering on the game with our VSiN MLB Betting Splits.
See player prop projections for Rangers vs. Angels from OptaAI.
How to Watch Rangers vs. Angels
Where: Peacock
When: Sunday May 24, 7:20 p.m. ET
Rangers vs. Angels MLB Odds
Los Angeles Angels -123 // Texas Rangers +102
Total: 8 (-112/-108)
Rangers vs. Angels Prediction
Pick: Angels 1st 5 moneyline (-125)
Gore comes into this start hoping to be around 100 percent, as he has been dealing with some side discomfort. The first-year Ranger only faced eight batters in his last start six days ago and allowed two runs on three hits with a couple walks and a couple strikeouts. His velocity was noticeably down, as his fastball and sinker were over a full mph lower than usual. Of the four batted balls he allowed, none of them were hit particularly hard, but it was clear that something was off.
Gore enters this one with a 4.78 ERA, but his advanced run estimators suggest some positive fortunes on the way with a 3.97 xERA and FIP and a 4.11 xFIP. Gore has struck out 55 in 49 innings, but also allowed 24 walks. His 69.4% LOB% explains the gap between his ERA and the other numbers, but he’s also creating a lot of his own problems with an 11.3% BB%, something many of us in the betting community expected to improve with a Texas organization that has done an excellent job with pitchers of late.
Speaking of bad luck, Detmers has a strong case for being one of the unluckiest hurlers in the game. The Halos southpaw has a 5.07 ERA, but a 3.23 xERA and a 3.07 FIP in his 55 innings of work. His 59.1% LOB% is the second-lowest among starters with at least 50 innings pitched. Only Arizona’s Ryne Nelson has a lower one, but he has a 5.19 ERA with a 4.77 xERA and a 5.05 FIP, so he’s made his own messes.
Detmers, meanwhile, has the 18th-lowest xERA out of 85 pitchers with at least 50 innings of work. In terms of ERA and FIP difference, Detmers ranks second at 2.00, just ahead of Jesus Luzardo and just behind Michael Lorenzen, whose 5.16 FIP comes with a 7.21 ERA. In other words, Detmers, who worked exclusively in relief last season, is a guy who should have much better days ahead.
On the whole, the Rangers are batting a paltry .219/.301/.328 with a 25.9% K% and a 9.9% BB% against lefties this season. The Angels are slashing .243/.333/.410 with a 23.9% K% and a 10.6% BB%. Their 19 HR against lefties are tied for fifth, whereas the Rangers have only hit eight round-trippers, though the Angels have almost 150 more plate appearances in that split.
Those interested in backing the Angels should know that their bullpen usage has been extreme this week. The Rangers used two relievers to throw 34 pitches yesterday and neither closer Jacob Latz nor primary setup man Jakob Junis have pitched since Wednesday. The Angels used five relief arms yesterday. Closer Kirby Yates and righty Ryan Zeferjahn have each worked three of the last four days, along with Chase Silseth and Tayler Saucedo. It could be an adventure late in the game, which is why the Angels 1st 5 moneyline is the bet at similar odds to the full game.
Rangers vs. Angels Player Props
Jo Adell Over 1.5 Total Bases (+119)
Adell is slashing .288/.333/.627 against lefties this season and only has a 4.5% BB%, as he’s a free-swinger in that split. Usually guys with good platoon splits are bolstered by drawing walks, and those don’t count towards total bases. Adell has 17 hits off of lefties with nine singles, two doubles, and six homers.
MacKenzie Gore Under 5.5 Strikeouts (+116)
Gore only threw 28 pitches last start with that lat discomfort and only played catch on Friday, so we’ll see how healthy and sharp he actually is. In his last three full starts, Gore has had Z-Contact% marks of 96.4%, 89.7%, and 93.5%. He’s been inconsistent with his swings and misses and the Angels have gotten better with strikeouts against lefties as the season has gone along. Gore’s overall 10.5% SwStr% is below league average for starters and his two worst starts from a Zone% standpoint have been his last two, so he’s been dealing with something, whether it’s the lat or otherwise.
