Angels at Rangers
While the Texas Rangers routinely have flexed their muscles as the weather has gotten warmer this summer, it has taken until the week leading into the All-Star break for the results to show up in the win column. The Rangers eye a fourth straight victory and look to extend their streak of multi-homer efforts to a season-high six games on Sunday, when they attempt to complete a three-game home sweep of the Los Angeles Angels.
Texas has belted a major league-high 62 home runs since the beginning of June and hit at least one in all but one of its 30 games in that span, getting two more in Saturday's 5-2 triumph as Adrian Beltre and Drew Robinson each launched a two-run blast. The Rangers (43-44), who rank third in the majors with 135 homers, improved to 30-13 this season when they record at least two and have outhomered the opposition 47-20 over their last 21 contests. Unlike its American League West rival, Los Angeles (44-47) has struggled to find offense of late and dropped three games below .500 for the first time since May 13 after scoring three runs or fewer for the eighth time in 11 contests. On the plus side for the Angels, Andrelton Simmons notched his second three-hit performance in five games Saturday to raise his average to .328 since May 12, while Yunel Escobar homered and is batting .356 over his last 17 games.
TV: 3:05 p.m. ET, FSN West (Los Angeles), FSN Southwest (Texas)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Angels RH JC Ramirez (7-7, 4.73 ERA) vs. Rangers RH Yu Darvish (6-7, 3.56)
Ramirez lost for the third time in four trips to the mound Tuesday in Minnesota, giving up four runs over five innings. The 28-year-old Nicaraguan has allowed at least four runs in three of those turns but has been markedly more successful on the road (6-3, 4.04 ERA) than at home (1-4, 5.44). Carlos Gomez is 5-for-10 and Beltre is 2-for-5 with a home run against Ramirez, who matched a season high with nine strikeouts en route to a victory at Texas on April 30.
Darvish endured one of his worst outings in 4 1/2 seasons in the majors Tuesday against Boston, surrendering career high-tying marks in runs allowed (seven) and hits (11) across a season-low 4 1/3 innings. The four-time All-Star is 0-3 with a 5.64 ERA in his last four turns, although he held the opposition to a total of two earned runs and nine hits over his previous 13 frames. Darvish has won both of his starts versus the Angels this season (1.38 ERA), striking out 20 across 13 innings.
WALK-OFFS
1. Beltre moved into a tie with Hall-of-Famer Carl Yastrzemski for 38th place on the all-time list with his 452nd career home run on Saturday.
2. Los Angeles OF Mike Trout (hand) doubled and scored two runs Saturday in a rehab appearance with Single-A Inland Empire.
3. Texas SS Elvis Andrus (paternity leave) returned from a two-game absence and finished 2-for-4 with a run scored.