LOS ANGELES ANGELS NOTES:
LEADING OFF: Today, the Angels play the sixth (1- 4) and final game on a road trip against the Houston Astros (1-2) and Texas Rangers (0-2; Aug. 14-16)…Halos went 2-5 on last homestand against the Mariners (0-4) and Giants (2-1)…LAA was 5-4 on last road trip against Detroit (3-0), Toronto (1-2) and Atlanta (1-2).
HOME RUN LEADERS: Angels lead the American League and rank third in the Majors with 178 home runs this season…Only the Braves (231) and Dodgers (186) have homered more.
LOW WATER MARK: With a 59-62 record, Angels are three games under .500 for the first time since finishing the 2022 season with a 73-89 record.
BLANKED: Monday night was just the fifth time that the Angels have been shut out this season…Only the Astros (4) have been blanked fewer times among A.L. teams in 2023.
ON REHAB: Logan O’Hoppe played his first game with Triple-A Salt Lake last night on a rehab assignment and went 1-for-2 with 1 RBI and caught 5.0 innings behind
the plate…In six games with Low-A Inland Emprie, he hit .316 (6/19) with three doubles and three RBI and caught 12 innings.
SILLY STATS: In four starts since being recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake on July 19, Chase Silseth has gone 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA (22.2 IP – 4 ER) and 31 strikeouts… On Aug. 6 vs. Seattle, he became the fifth rookie in Angels history with a 12+ strikeout game, joining Jorge Rubio (1966), Tim Fortugno (1992), Shohei Ohtani (2018) and Reid Detmers (2022).
WINS AND LOSSES: Halos have gone 3-4 in last seven contests following a season-high seven game losing streak to begin the month of August…Angels won 10 of previous 13 contests before the losing streak.
HELLO, MY NAME IS…: The Angels 59 players used this season are the most in the Majors…LAA set a franchise record last year with 66 players used.
VS. TEXAS: Rangers lead the 2023 season 5-4…Halos are 3-3 at Globe Life Field this year…LAA has won seven of last 12 games vs. Texas, dating back to last season… Angels are looking to avoid being swept by Texas in a three-game series for the first time since May 16-18, 2022 at Globe Life Field…Following the current series in Arlington, the clubs will face off in one additional series at Angel Stadium from Sept. 25-27.
SETTING THE TONE: The Angels rank second in the Majors with eight leadoff home runs this season (four by Mickey Moniak and two each from Taylor Ward and Luis Rengifo)…Only the Dodgers (10 – all by Mookie Betts) have hit more this year…The eight leadoff homers are tied for the third-most in a season in Halos history (LAA had 10 leadoff HR in 1986 and nine in 2021).
IT’S BEEN A WHILE: Friday night at Houston, C.J. Cron hit his first home run in an Angels uniform since Sept. 20, 2017…The 5 years, 325 days between homers are the third-longest span in Halos history: Wally Joyner: 9 years, 216 days (9/1/91- 4/5/01) & Paul Schaal: 5 years, 352 days (5/26/68-5/13/74) (ELIAS).
THE INJURED LIST: Angels currently have 17 players on the injured list and have used the IL a total of 28 times this year for 25 different players…The 17 players
currently on the IL are the most in the Majors.
THE MOOSE: In his 38 games since joining the Angels, Mike Moustakas has totaled seven home runs and 24 RBI…In 47 games earlier this year for Colorado, he had four home runs and 17 RBI.
THE CLOSER: Carlos Estévez has converted 25 of 27 save opportunities this season…His save Sunday at Houston was the 50th of his career…Estévez established a franchise record streak of 23 consecutive save conversions to begin the season before his first blown save on Aug. 3 vs. Seattle…The streak was the second-longest save streak at any point in a season in Angels history (Francisco Rodriguez had a 25 game streak in 2008).
DOUBLE DIGITS: After recording his 10th win of the season last Wednesday night vs. San Francisco, Shohei Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to have multiple seasons with 10+ home runs and 10+ pitching wins.
HEATING UP: Over his last 23 games, Luis Rengifo is batting .297 (27/91) with 12 XBH…He had his season-high seven-game hit streak snapped on Saturday night.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – LHP REID DETMERS 2-9, 5.27 ERA
Has held opponents to two-or-fewer runs in seven of last 11 starts.
TODAY’S GAME: Making 22nd start of the season today and 10th on the road…Made Opening Day roster for second consecutive season…Is in third Major League season with Angels.
- SUPPORT ME: Averaging 3.43 runs of support per nine innings this season, which is fourth-fewest in A.L. (min. 105 IP).
- LAST TIME OUT: Took loss in last start on August 11 at Houston after tossing 2.1 innings and allowing career-high seven earned runs on seven hits with three walks.
- WINNING STREAK: With victories on June 8 and July 2, won consecutive decisions for third time in career.
- STAY UNFAMILIAR: This season, opponents are batting .232 (78/336) the first two times through the order, but are batting .366 (30/82) the third time through the batting order.
- EARLY SUCCESS: Has a 4.91 ERA (62.1 IP – 34 ER) in the first three innings of games, compared with an 5.76 ERA (45.1 IP – 29 ER) from the fourth inning on.
- GOING OFFSPEED: In 2023, is holding opponents to a .236 (62/263) average against offspeed pitches, including a .190 (12/63) clip on curveballs.
- VS. TEXAS: In seven career starts vs. Texas, is 1-2 with a 4.75 ERA (36 IP – 19 ER) and 48 strikeouts…This year, is 0-1 with a 3.60 ERA (10 IP – 4 ER) in two starts vs. TEX…Set a career high with 12 strikeouts vs. Rangers on July 31, 2022 at The Big A.
- AT GLOBE LIFE FIELD: In three career starts at Globe Life, is 0-0 with a 6.23 ERA (13 IP – 9 ER) with 17 strikeouts…Pitched 6.0 innings and surrendered just one run on three hits, three walks, and eight strikeouts in only start at Globe Life in 2023, on June 14.
- WHIFF SPECIALIST: Ranks seventh in American League this season with 27.8% strikeout rate (min. 100 IP)…Ranks second on Halos with 131 punchouts in 2023.
- HISTORIC STRETCH: From June 8 – July 2, had five straight starts with 8+ strikeouts and two-or-fewer runs allowed…The only other player in Angels history with such a streak was Nolan Ryan (seven games; his final three games in 1972 and first four in 1973).
- 12K: Matched career high with 12 strikeouts on May 19 vs. Minnesota and carried a no-hitter through 5.2 innings…Previously tallied 12 strikeouts on July 31, 2022 vs. Texas.
- STREAKS SNAPPED: Victory on June 14 ended a career-high streak of five consecutive losing decisions…Also ended streak of 10 straight winless starts to begin a season, which finished tied for third-longest in Angels history (Rickey Clark – 12 starts in 1968 and Hector Santiago – 11 starts in 2014).
TEXAS RANGERS NOTES:
WINS AND LOSSES: Texas beat the Angels last night, 7-3, and club has a 2-0 record to open this 6-G, 7-day homestand vs. LAA (2-0 + tonight) and MIL (3 G)…club has 72 wins, already most since 2019 (78)…TEX has won 2 straight, 4 of 5 and 12 of its last 14 G, including a season-best 8-G win streak (8/1-8), longest for Texas since going 10-0, 5/9- 19/17…Rangers are A.L.-best 12-2 (.857) in August, 2ndbest in MLB to only LAD (13-1, .929)…have surpassed club’s July win total (11-13)…have gone 13-7 in last 20 G and 14-9 in last 23 G since a 6-G win streak (7/14-19) out of the break…team is A.L.-best 20-9 (.690) in the 2nd “half”, 2nd-best in MLB (LAD is 21-8, .724), and 20 wins are T2nd in MLB (21-LAD, 20-TEX/BAL)…TEX is 21-11 in last 32, 22-15 in last 37 G, and 23-17 in last 40 G…team was 12-19 over a 31-G span from 6/7-7/9 to end the 1st “half”…TEX is 58-37 in last 95 G, 62-42 in last 104 G and 67-44 last 111 G (beg. 4/9).
- At 72-48 (.600), TEX owns the 2nd-best record in the A.L., 4th-best in MLB (.647-ATL, .617-BAL, .610-LAD, .600- TEX)…71 wins rank T2nd in A.L., T3rd-most in MLB (77-ATL, 74-BAL, 72-TEX/LAD/TB).
- The 72-48 mark is the best 120-G start to a season in Washington/Texas franchise history (see chart below).
WITH A WIN TONIGHT, Texas would:
- Post the best 121-G record in franchise history at 73-48.
- Reach season-high 25 G above .500 for just the 6th season in franchise history (1977, 1999, 2011, 2012, 2016)…this would be earliest date (8/16) and fewest games (121) in club history to reach 25-over (currently 8/22 and 125 G in 1999).
- Go undefeated in a series for the 9th time in ’23 and 5th time since the AS break…would be 3rd consecutive undefeated home series to open August.
- Improve to a 43-20 record at Globe Life Field, the best 63-G start to a season at home in franchise history.
- Win 10 consecutive games at home for just 3rd time in franchise history (11-0, 5/26-6/22/86; 10-0, 5/8-23/98).
STANDINGS: Texas owns a lead of at least 3.5-games in A.L. West over 2nd-place HOU for a 2nd straight day, largest lead since 7/20 (+4.0 GA)…held leads of 2.0+ G in the division for 63 consecutive days from 5/23-7/24 before it dropped to 0.5 G for 3 straight days 7/31-8/2…season-best 6.5-G lead in West after win 6/23 at NYY, which was largest division lead since winning the West by 9.0 G in 2016…TEX has had sole possession of 1st place for 101 straight, 108 of 109, and 121 of the last 123 days beg. 4/14.
- TEX has been alone or tied atop the division for 137 of the season’s first 138 days (exception: 4/8).
SERIES STUFF: After securing a series win this week vs. LAA, the Rangers have won 5 straight series, 2nd-best streak in ’23 (6-0-0, 5/19-6/7)…club is now 7-3-0 in series since break, going 5-1-0 at home in 2nd “half”…the 7-3-0 span follows a 2-6-1 stretch to end the 1st “half”…is now 24- 13-2 overall in series this year, going 13-5-2 at home and 11-8-0 on the road.
AT HOME: TEX is an MLB-best 42-20 (.677) at home, best 62-G home start in team history (see chart)…MLB-best 15-2 (.882) in 2nd “half”, and owns a 20-7 mark in Arlington beg. 6/17…club has won 9 straight, longest active home win streak in MLB and longest ever at GLF.
STUPENDOUS SEAGER: Corey Seager recorded his 13th career multi-HR game last night, his 1st this season and 3rd as a Ranger…the 5-RBI effort extended Seager’s productive month in which he has produced 10 XBH (7 HR, 3 2B) over the 1st 11 G in August…the 7 HR and 10 XBH are both tied for the MLB lead this month…Seager also had 11 XBH/16 RBI over an 11-G span from 6/10-20, joining ATL’s Matt Olson as the only MLB batters with multiple such streaks (10+ XBH/15+ RBI in 11 G) that were not overlapping in 2023… Texas is 16-2 since the All-Star break when Seager plays.
- Seager has 349 PA’s in 2023, limited to 77 G due to 2 stints on the IL…he is currently 23 PA’s shy of qualifying for league leader status…among players with at least 345 PA’s this year, Seager’s .666 SLG and 1.075 OPS are the highest in MLB…Seager’s A.L.-high .350 BA (min. 345 PA) ranks 2nd in MLB to only Luis Arraez (.363) and his .410 OBP is best in the A.L.
- After 2 HR last night, Seager has 4 HR in his last 4 G in Arlington and 7 HR in his last 9 home games…he is batting .374/.440/.747/1.187 with 15 HR and 44 RBI over 45 G in Arlington this season, highest home OBP/SLG/OPS figures among MLB qualifiers, trailing only Arraez (.395) in BA.
- According to Stathead, Seager’s 54 XBH are the most ever by a Ranger over his first 77 G of a season (prev. record was 52 XBH by Iván Rodríguez in 2000).
GOOD STARTS: With Jordan Montgomery’s win last night (6.0 IP, 1 R-ER), the Texas rotation has now produced quality starts in 3 straight and 7 of the past 8 games…team’s MLB-high 11 quality starts in August are already among the most for the club in any month in ’23 (12-April, 15-May, 11-June, 5-July)…rotation has allowed more than 3 runs just once in Aug. (Jon Gray on 8/5 vs. MIA – 5 R-ER in 5.1 IP)…starters’ 2.14 ERA (20 ER/84.0 IP) is lowest in MLB this month.
- Starters have earned wins in all 8 home games in August, posting a 2.17 ERA (12 ER/49.2 IP) with 9 BB/67 SO and a .203 opp. BA/.501 opp. OPS.
MORE OFFENSE: After last night’s 7-3 win, the Rangers lead MLB with 1138 hits and 263 doubles, and the club’s A.L.- high .273 BA, .342 OBP, .464 SLG, .807 OPS, 1938 TB, and 447 XBH all rank 2nd in Majors to only Atlanta…Texas has 25 HR in the 1st 14 G in August (best in A.L., T2nd in MLB: 31-ATL, 25-TEX/CHC), multiple HR in all 8 home games this month…the 21 HR over last 8 home games are most in any 8-G span in Arlington since 6/20-7/8/17 (also 21 HR).
ANOTHER LEFTY: Entering tonight’s matchup with Reid Detmers, the Rangers are 23-11 against LH starters this season, winning 5 straight, 7 of 8, and going 17-6 (.739) since May 14…lefties have quality starts in just 7 of 34 chances vs. TEX this season, and the Rangers have still posted a win in 4 of those 7 QS…Texas batters have slashed .284/.358/.479/.836 vs. LH starters in ’23, all highest in MLB except for the SLG (ATL has .487 SLG vs. LHS).
THE DIFFERENCE: Last night’s win raised the Rangers’ A.L.-best run differential to +197, the highest figure at any point in any season in team history (prev. +178 on 9/28/11)… only ATL (+206) has a higher mark in ’23…Rangers have a +52 run differential in August alone, T2nd-best in MLB: +58- ATL, +52-TEX/LAD, +24-HOU.
THE KING IS GONE: Today marks the anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley, the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, who passed away at his Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tenn. 46 years ago today on Aug. 16, 1977.
SHORTS: Marcus Semien has reached base safely via H/BB in 22 straight games (beg. 7/22) and is batting .321/.408/.589/.997 (36-112) over 29 G since the All-Star
break.…happy birthday to longtime Rangers clubhouse man David Bales.
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER – #22 Jon Gray, RHP (8-5, 3.65)
TONIGHT: The 31-year-old right-hander is set to make his 22nd appearance/ start of the season in tonight’s series finale against the Angels…is 2-0 with a 3.65 ERA (5 ER/12.1 IP) and 13 SO/2 BB through 2 starts in August…has gone 2-3, 5.74 ERA (30 ER/47.0 IP) over his last 9 starts (beg. 6/18) to raise his season ERA from 2.32 to 3.65, still 13th-lowest among A.L. qualifiers…3.63 pitches per batter faced figure is lowest in A.L./4th in MLB…also ranks among A.L. leaders in H/9 (8th, 7.83), opp. OPS (14th, .676), and WHIP (15th, 1.19)…has struck out 102 of 491 (20.8%) of batters faced in 2023, which would be the 2nd-lowest strikeout pct. of his career (12.6% in 2020 w/ COL), this despite a 26.1% swing-and-miss pct. which ranks 15th in A.L…Gray’s ERA by month this season: April (3.91), May (1.95), June (3.99), July (5.48), Aug. (3.65)…will pitch this evening on regular 4 days’ rest after posting a dominant outing in Texas’ 2-1 win on Fri. at SF
(see ‘Last Start’)…this is Gray’s 2nd season with Texas after signing a 4-year free agent contract with the club on 12/1/21…was hindered by several injuries last
season, but still managed to post a 7-7 record, 3.96 ERA (56 ER/127.1 IP), and 134 strikeouts over 24 starts…was 3rd overall selection by Colorado in 2013 MLB Draft after pitching 2 seasons at the U. of Oklahoma…is a native of the Oklahoma City area, growing up in Chandler…Texas is 12-9 in his 21 starts this season.
LAST START: Tossed 7.0 scoreless frames in Texas’ 2-1 win on Fri. at SF (W, 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 SO, 87 pitches/61 strikes)…was just the 9th start in Rangers history of 7.0+ SHO IP while allowing 2-or-fewer hits and no BB with 7+ SO…Gray owns each of the last 2 starts on that list (also 7/13/22 vs. OAK) and joins Yu Darvish (4/2/13 at HOU and 6/23/17 at NYY) as the only pitchers with multiple such starts in a Rangers career…produced the 2nd-highest game score (80) of the season, trailing only 12-strikeout CG on 6/7 vs. STL (87 game score).
VS. ANGELS: Tonight’s start will be Gray’s 1st time facing the Angels in ’23, and he is 2-0, 4.19 ERA (9 ER/19.1 IP) in 3 career starts vs. LAA…earned his 1st-ever win as a Ranger in lone start vs. Halos last season on 5/16/22 vs. LAA (W, 5.2 IP, 8 H, 4 R-ER, 1 BB, 8 SO)…was staked to an early lead after TEX’s 6-run 1st inn.
AT HOME: Has seen far better results on the road (5-2, 2.76 ERA in 10 GS) than at home (3-3, 4.50 ERA in 11 GS) in 2023, and is 1-1, 7.50 (20 ER/24.0 IP) in last 5 GS in Arlington (beg. 6/18)…opponents are batting .208/.271/.309/.580 (43- 207) w/ 4 HR on road vs. .272/.341/.421/.762 (62-228) w/ 9 HR at GLF.
COMPLETE GAME: Was tough-luck loser in start on 6/7 vs. STL, a 1-0 Rangers defeat (CG, 9.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R-ER, 0 BB, 12 SO, 1 HR, 100 pitches/76 strikes)… according to Stathead, it marked just the 2nd time in modern MLB history that a pitcher took the loss despite 9.0+ IP, 12+ SO, 4-or-fewer hits, 1 R allowed, and zero BB…the other instance?: TB’s James Shields on 10/2/12 vs. BAL…the lone run in Gray’s loss to the Cards was a solo HR by Alec Burleson in the 8th inning… it was the 23rd instance of a TEX starter taking a 1-0 loss in a CG, 1st since Matt Harrison on 9/22/12 at SEA…produced 2nd-highest game score of his career (87), trailing only CG SHO on 9/17/16 vs. SD (95 game score).
SCORELESS STREAKS: Has produced 2 of the longest scoreless streaks of his career since the start of May: 20.0 IP (5/26-6/7) and 17.0 IP (5/8-20)…Gray’s loss on 6/7 vs. STL ended spans in which he won a career-best 5 consecutive starts (5/8-6/2) along with a career-high 6-G win streak (4/9-6/2)…Gray was the 1st Ranger to win 5 consecutive starts since Lance Lynn from 6/17-7/11/19… Rangers went 5-0 in his 5 May starts, with Gray going 4-0, 1.95 (7 ER/32.1 IP) over 5 GS in May, 2nd-lowest monthly ERA of his career (min. 4 GS) to only a 1.89 figure over 5 G/GS in July 2016.
2023: Has allowed 3-or-fewer runs in 13 of his 21 starts…opp. BA by time thru the lineup: 1st (.234), 2nd (.276), 3rd (.212), 4th (0-4)…number of GS in ’23 by starting catcher: 12-Heim, 6-León, 2-Garver, 1-Hedges…Rangers went 5-0 in his 5 May starts, with Gray going 4-0, 1.95 (7 ER/32.1 IP) in 5 GS for the month, 2nd-lowest monthly ERA of his career (min. 4 GS) to only 1.89 over 5 G/GS in July 2016…recorded 1,000th career strikeout on 4/26 at CIN (Spencer Steer)… made early exit in start on 4/15 at HOU (ND, 2.0 IP, 1 R-ER) after he took a liner off his right forearm…earned 1st win on 4/9 at CHC (5.2 IP, 2 R-ER), when Will Smith stranded bases loaded in the 6th inning…began start 5/13 at OAK w/ 6.2 hitless innings before a Jace Peterson 2-out single to RF in the 7th…it was the longest no-hit bid by a TEX starter since 4/15/18 at HOU, when Bartolo Colon retired the first 21 Astros…surpassed 1000.0 career innings during the start (on 2nd out in 6th inn.)…in win on 5/20 vs. COL, escaped a 27-pitch 1st inning in which the Rox loaded the bases with no outs and did not score…was 1st career meeting with the team that drafted him…has suffered a pair of 1-0 losses on solo HR in ’23 (6/7 vs. STL and 6/24 at NYY), joining Yu Darvish (2x in 2013) as the only starting pitchers in TEX history w/ multiple 1-0 losses in a season on a solo HR.
