Texas @ Los Angeles preview
Angel Stadium
Last Meeting ( May 18, 2010 ) LA Angels 7, Texas 8
Josh Hamilton’s hot hitting might be the prime reason why the Texas Rangers are the hottest team in baseball.
However, when it comes to the team visiting the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, it’s a different torrid-hitting Ranger who will be in spotlight.
Vladimir Guerrero will look to do some damage in his former home when he returns to Angel Stadium for the first time during a three-game series that begins Tuesday night.
Guerrero played six seasons with the Angels and was the 2004 American League MVP. After he had just 15 homers and 50 RBIs during an injury-plagued season last year, the Angels allowed Guerrero to leave as a free agent.
He has stayed healthy this season and fared well for the AL West-leading Rangers with 15 homers, a team-leading 60 RBIs and a .327 batting average. His RBI total is second-best in the American League behind Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers.
Addition in this case also meant subtraction for a Texas rival and the Angels have certainly missed Guerrero, even more so since first baseman Kendry Morales was lost for the season with a broken leg.
Texas (46-29) has won 20 of its last 25 games and enters the series with a 4 1/2-game lead over the Angels (43-35).
Guerrero is on pace for his first 100-RBI season since driving in 125 for the Angels in 2007. He also has a good shot at his first 30-homer season since hammering 33 in 2006.
Guerrero has teamed with Hamilton and Michael Young to form a highly productive trio.
Hamilton is batting .346 with 18 homers and 57 RBIs. He has a 21-game hitting streak going and is batting .477 (41-of-86) with nine homers and 28 RBIs since last going hitless on June 3.
Young is hitting .316 with 11 homers and 51 RBIs.
Texas is third in the majors with 401 runs scored and the Rangers’ lineup presents quite a challenge for Joel Pineiro, who will start for Los Angeles on Tuesday.
Pineiro (7-6) has won four consecutive starts and has allowed only one run in each of his last three outings. He has struck out 17 and walked three in 24 1/3 innings during that span to lower his ERA to 4.21.
Pineiro is 7-5 lifetime against Texas with a 4.95 ERA.
Scott Feldman (5-6, 5.32 ERA) starts for Texas. Feldman is 4-2 over his last seven starts despite allowing four or more runs in four of the outings.
Feldman has a 4-4 career mark and 5.31 ERA against the Angels.
Torii Hunter is up with there with the Texas trio among the American League RBI leaders. Hunter has a team-leading 53 to go with 12 homers and a .285 average.
Mike Napoli is the Angels’ surprise home-run leader after hitting his 13th of the season during Sunday’s victory over the Colorado Rockies. Napoli is 10-for-18 (.556) lifetime with one homer against Feldman.