4th Oct - Rangers vs Angels

The final day of the MLB regular season reaches a climatic finish on Sunday evening. The National League match-ups are all worked out, but there’s still some battles going on in the American League, most notably, the final place in the Wildcard game is up for grabs.

The Houston Astros can lock it up with a win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, but if they lose, they open the door for the LA Angels.

The Angels have done everything they can to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. They needed a ninth inning Mike Trout – Albert Pujols combination in game two of their season closing series against the Texas Rangers, they then came from 10-6 down in the ninth inning, scoring five runs, to pull off the unlikeliest of victories.

This is a team that was widely tipped to win back-to-back AL West division titles and a franchise that is already asking plenty of internal questions after an up and down season. Still, it’s playoffs or bust and their ticket to a one-game showdown with the New York Yankees could be punched with one more win against the Rangers.

Garrett Richards comes back into this game to pitch for the Angels on short rest. The right-hander comes off three days rest, but carries an impressive streak of performances into the game against the Rangers. He’s won seven straight outings against Texas, posting a 2.11 ERA along the way.

Meanwhile, this game means something for the playoff-bound Rangers, a defeat could see them surrender the AL West division crown to the Astros. They stormed to the top of this division and will be desperate to avoid playing in a Wildcard game.

Cole Hamels is on the opposing mound for the Rangers. He’s won his last six decisions, but did give up six runs in his last outing, a 7-6 win over the Detroit Tigers. Texas’ biggest challenge may be psychological, they would have felt like the division was wrapped up entering the ninth inning yesterday, they need to bounce back quickly for the game today.

Three Reasons for Betting Tips

1. Not every story has a happy ending

The Angels have pulled off two remarkable ninth inning performances to stay alive in this race, but the magical runs don’t always work out and we think that the Rangers are playing well enough as a team to avoid a three-game losing streak here.

2. Garrett Richards short rest

He’s been in the league for four seasons, but hasn’t pitched on short rest since July 2013. There’s no questioning Richards’ performances against Texas, but he was hardly dominant in his last outing (a loss to Oakland) and we’re not convinced that he’s the “lights out” pitcher on short rest.

3. Hamels

He’s the reliable pitcher in Texas and we think he’ll give them a good enough outing tonight, look for this to be another game where some runs are scored though…