Rangers Can Cut Off Angels’ Wings For Good This Weekend

Baseball bettors are aware that the Los Angeles Angels are in danger of drifting into the Pacific Ocean right now, and the Texas Rangers will have a chance to cut off their wings for good this weekend. They'll start things off on Friday night at 10:05 PM ET at Angel Stadium (natural turf), within shouting distance of Disneyland in Anaheim. Texas will turn to Tommy Hunter, who is a perfect 8-0 with a 2.31 ERA, while the Angels hand the ball to Ervin Santana (9-7, 3.55 ERA). The Angels are listed as baseball betting favorites of -120, with Texas at even money, and the total posted at 8.5 runs.

MLB Baseball Betting

Texas Rangers (60-42) at Los Angeles Angels (52-52)

Friday, July 30 -- 10:05 PM ET

MLB Baseball Betting Odds: L.A. Angels -120, Texas +100, Total 8.5

Here are some of the Major League Baseball betting trends for this game:

• Texas has won eight of its last 11 games
• Texas has won 14 of its last 18 road games
• Texas has played four of its last five road games UNDER the total
• Los Angeles has lost seven of its last eight games
• Los Angeles has lost four of its last five home games

The Los Angeles Angels need to help themselves - right now. Mike Scioscia's team is in danger of making itself completely irrelevant in the American league playoff chase. The Angels, off four straight losses, are at the .500 mark and that is not going to be good enough to contend for anything. They are nine games behind the Texas Rangers in the AL West, and they don't even occupy second place anymore - that is where the Oakland A's sit at the moment. The Angels are actually farther away from the Tampa Bay Rays than they are in their division, trailing the Rays by 12.5 games in the wild card chase. In the baseball betting odds, they are +1400 to win the division and +3000 to win the American League pennant, and they are not getting there if they don't put on a furious charge.

Texas is going to win the AL West unless they have a complete collapse. The Rangers are listed at -3000 in the baseball betting odds to capture the division, and they're currently +700 to win the World Series. There are some people who still feel the Angels will be able to get themselves together in time to make a serious run at the division title. But time is running out on them. Texas is a franchise that has been in financial turmoil, and is not that experienced at getting into the playoffs. But the Rangers did their best to slam the door shut on Los Angeles when they picked up Cliff Lee in a trade with the Seattle Mariners. The Angels picked up Dan Haren, which doesn't have the same kind of impact. Now Texas has added Jorge Cantu in a trade with the Florida Marlins, making itself stronger at first base, with the possibility of Cantu filling in at second for Ian Kinsler, who is now on the DL.

Here are some of the head-to-head Major League Baseball betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

• Four of the last five meetings have gone UNDER the total
• Texas has won seven of the last ten meetings
• Los Angeles has won five of the last seven meetings as the home team

Hunter was one of those guys who took part in a publicity opportunity on Wednesday, manning one of the gates at DFW for Southwest Airlines, one of the team's sponsors, but even though the Rangers could probably afford it right now, they insisted that they are not going to put any Southwest employees on the mound. Hunter started the season at Triple-A, as he was rehabilitating an oblique muscle that had been torn. He went 1-3 in the minors, but has not lost since being called back up to the majors with Texas. Hunter faced the Angels just five days ago, and allowed three runs on three hits over 6-1/3 innings. It's the only start where he's allowed as many as three runs this season. Not the hardest thrower in the world, Hunter has just 32 strikeouts in 62 innings, but the opposition is hitting just .220 against him.