First pitch: Tuesday, 10:00 p.m. ET
Line: N/A, Total: N/A

The Angels will be continuing their push for the second AL wild card spot when they host the Rangers on Tuesday.

The Angels are currently right in the mix for a spot in the postseason, which is very surprising at this point in the year. Not many expected them to be here right now, but they they are rolling as of late. Los Angeles is playing with a ton of confidence, which is the exact opposite of what Texas is playing with this season. The Rangers have been a contender in the American League for the past couple of seasons, but that has not been the case this season. The Rangers do still have a shot to earn a wild card spot, but it’s very hard to imagine right now. They would need a huge winning streak at this point, and they’d also need to figure out a way to change their mentality. Texas looks more like a team that is ready to fold than one that is willing to fight for a spot in the playoffs. Anyway, the starters in this Tuesday night matchup are going to be RHP Tyson Ross (3-2, 7.02 ERA, 31 K) for the Rangers and RHP Ricky Nolasco (6-12, 5.16 ERA, 114 K) for the Angels. Both pitchers have had their struggles this season, so don’t be surprised if there are a lot of runs scored in this one.

The Rangers have been winning games as of late, but that doesn’t mean that this team is necessarily brimming with confidence. They had high hopes early in the season, but they now find themselves doing everything they can to claw back into the playoff picture. That has to be disheartening for a group that is loaded with talent, but you can’t count them out just yet. Texas will, however, need a solid start from Tyson Ross on Tuesday. Ross has been awful this season, but he is a talented pitcher. Ross’ ERA was under 3.30 from 2013 to 2015, but he was badly injured in 2016 and that is what he is working his way back from now. He should get more and more comfortable with each trip to the hill. On offense, 3B Adrian Beltre is a guy that Texas will be counting on here. Beltre has dominated Nolasco in his career, as he is 4-for-5 with a homer and four RBI against the righty. He also happens to be having a great season, so he is definitely going to be feeling good when he steps to the plate here.

The Angels are playing very well right now, but they’ll need Ricky Nolasco to keep them going here. Nolasco has allowed five or more runs in two of his past three starts, but he has also allowed two or fewer earned runs in two of his past four. That shows how inconsistent this guy is, and you really don’t know what you’re going to get when he is out there. The Angels can only hope that he can give them a solid outing in this one, but it’s not looking very good here. He has allowed 13 earned runs in 6.2 innings of work against the Rangers this season, which is a pretty unacceptable mark. As for the Angels’ offense, OF Mike Trout will likely do his thing in this one. He has been truly incredibly this season and nothing has slowed him down just yet. A midseason injury certainly was trouble, but it didn’t take him very long to come back and play like the superstar that he is.