The Los Angeles Angels and the Texas Rangers will close out the regular season with a four-game set at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington starting this Thursday night. Game 1 is set to get underway at 8:05 p.m. (ET), and it will be available on MLB Extra Innings.

The Angels come into Wednesday afternoon’s series finale against Oakland with a chance to finish an even .500 for the year if they can go on a tear and win four of their last five games. They are 7-3 in their last 10 games and 77-80 overall.

The Rangers remain a game back in the wildcard race after taking the first two games of this week’s three-game series against Houston. They are 5-5 in their last 10 outings, and with those two wins against the Astros this week they are now 41-35 at home this season.

Angels at Rangers Betting Storylines

In what was supposed to be a run at the American League Pennant that never materialized, the Angels finish this season as one of the best hitting teams in the league. They are third overall with a team batting average of .264 while scoring 4.57 runs a game, which is ranked fifth in the AL. The duo of Mike Trout and Mark Trumbo has accounted for a combined 191 RBI and 60 home runs.

Despite all that production at the plate, Los Angeles has remained a .500 ball club because of pitching staff that is ranked near the bottom of the AL with a team ERA of 4.25. Los Angeles is expected to start its final series of the season with Jerome Williams on the mound. The right-hander is 9-10 this season with a 4.55 ERA. He was hit in the foot by a ball this past Monday but should be ready to go for Thursday night. Williams is 1-1 against Texas with a 5.98 ERA.

It is do-or-die for the Rangers heading into this series with very little margin for error. Inconsistency at the plate has plagued this lineup down the stretch, and they cannot afford for their bats to go silent over these last four games. Texas has fallen to seventh in the AL in scoring with an average of 4.45 runs a game, and it has only exceeded that total three times in its last 10 games.

Fortunately, the Rangers still have one of the best overall pitching staffs in the AL with a team ERA of 3.66. They will go with Matt Garza as their starter for Thursday night. He is coming off a 3-1 gem over Houston his last time out after losing his previous four starts. Since coming to the team earlier this season, the right-hander is 2-1 with a 3.82 ERA in six starts at Rangers Ballpark.

Angels at Rangers MLB Betting Odds and Trends

BetOnline has opened the Angels as +160 road underdogs for Thursday night’s series opener with Texas listed as a -170 home favorite. The total has been set at 9.

The Angels are 7-2 in their last nine road games and 21-9 in their last 30 games overall. The total has gone “over” in 12 of their last 16 games as an underdog.

The Rangers are 5-13 in their last 18 games and just 1-7 in their last eight games as favorites at home. The total has gone over in five of their last seven games as favorites.

Head-to-head this season, Texas holds an 11-4 series edge overall, and it is 5-1 against LA at home this season. The total has gone over in 10 of the 15 games.

Free Baseball Picks: Angels at Rangers Predictions

The Angels have the better momentum coming into this series, and their motivation remains high with a chance to knock their rivals out of the playoffs. Given that most of the games between these two have resulted in high-scoring affairs, I would go with the over in this contest, but if playing the side, I would have to lean towards Los Angeles to put the first dagger into the Rangers’ postseason plans.

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