Los Angeles Angels vs. Texas Rangers: Odds, Preview, & Prediction | Thursday, July 28th

Los Angeles Angels vs. Texas Rangers Preview: Can Shohei Ohtani lead the Angels to a victory on the mound?

The Los Angeles Angels will host the Texas Rangers tonight to begin their new series. The reigning American League MVP Shohei Ohtani will take the mound for the Halos, and he's looking to continue his success this season. The Angels' pitching staff has been very good since the All-Star break, winning their last two games by way of the shutout. If you want betting action on this game, you've come to the right place.

Below, you will find a brief preview of each team followed by a prediction for the game.

Los Angeles Angels Preview:

"Bring it in for the real thing"- @Angels

After an amazing start to the season, the Los Angeles Angels have found themselves out of the playoff race. They have been riddled with injuries, but one thing has remained constant: Shohei Ohtani. The two-way superstar has led the Angels both on the mound and at the plate, and he will be asked to do the same tonight.

Ohtani has been very good on the mound, with a 2.80 ERA to go along with a record of 9-5. Not quite as great as his MVP season, but still elite. He will be tasked with shutting down the Rangers lineup, which ranks 19th in the MLB.

Offensively, the Angels will look to Shohei Ohtani, Taylor Ward, and Jared Walsh to do damage. The Los Angeles offense ranks poorly, coming 26th in the MLB in terms of team batting average. The key to victory is for the offense to turn their fortunes around by puttinh up some runs against the Rangers.

Texas Rangers Preview:

"Happy 26th birthday, Spencer Howard!"- @Rangers

Both the Rangers' offense and pitching staff have been very mediocre this season. They haven't been able to consistently score runs and haven't had the ability to keep other teams off the scoreboard. This is not a great formula when staring down the reigning MVP on the other side.

The Rangers' offense has been led by Corey Seager, Marcus Semiem, and Adolis Garcia. The three have been the sole bright spots in the Rangers season. The team seems to be a few years away from contention, but they have some solid young pieces to build around.

Spencer Howard will take the ball for Texas, and he hasn't been having the best season. Howard has a boosted ERA of 7.11 this season. Although the sample size isn't huge, Howard has still shown a tendency to hit pretty hard. The key to victory for Texas is to have Howard produce a quality start since the offense could have a tough time with Ohtani.

Pick/Prediction: Ohtani 7+ K's/LAA ML (-115)

Shohei Ohtani has been striking out hitters at a significant rate. He has struck out 10 or more batters in each of his last 5 starts, and matches up well against this Rangers lineup. All aboard the Shohei train!