The Los Angeles Angels are coming off a 5-1 homestand. The Texas Rangers lost two of three on a brief road trip to Tampa Bay as the top teams in baseball squared off

Next up is a matchup between the American League West foes as the Angels and Rangers meet for a four-game series starting Monday in Arlington, Texas. It’s the second series of the season between the teams as the Rangers took two of three in Anaheim from May 5-7

The Angels are riding high, though, following a 9-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Sunday to close the successful six-game homestand. Shohei Ohtani had three hits to extend his hitting streak to eight games, but shortstop Zach Neto was the star of the game with two home runs

“I’ve been working for this for a long time,” Neto told Bally Sports West during a postgame interview. “Everything happens for a reason. Today, I had a really good day in the box and I’m just going to try and keep it going.”

Neto went on to say the Angels will be looking to carry this momentum into Texas

“Just trying to keep it going in there and having the guys in the locker room just moving in the right direction and keep winning baseball games,” he said.

Left-hander Tyler Anderson (3-1, 5.62 ERA), Monday’s starter for the Angels, earned a win in his previous start against the Cubs on Tuesday. He gave up four runs on five hits with three walks and five strikeouts over five innings

Anderson will be facing the Rangers for the second time this season. In a no-decision effort on May 5 in Anaheim, he allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits with five walks and six strikeouts over five innings in the Angels‘ 5-4 victory

Anderson is 1-0 with a 2.64 ERA in six career games against the Rangers, including five starts. His lone victory came on Aug. 17, 2021, as a member of the Mariners when they faced the Rangers in Arlington. Anderson threw six innings of one-run ball that day

For the Rangers, Monday starter Dane Dunning (5-1, 2.52) has been arguably the most pleasant surprise of the season. Dunning stepped into the rotation for Jacob deGrom in early May and has gone 3-1 with a 2.97 ERA in six starts

The first start Dunning made was against the Angels on May 5. He took a no-decision after throwing five scoreless innings, scattering two hits. Against the Angels over his career, Dunning is 2-3 with a 4.89 ERA over nine starts

Dunning earned the win in his last start vs. St. Louis on Tuesday despite not having his best stuff. He allowed a season-high four runs on seven hits with two walks and one strikeout over 5 2/3 innings. Three of the hits were home runs, the most Dunning has given up in his career and ending what had been a streak of 48 2/3 innings without allowing a home run.

As a team, the Rangers might have lost two of three to the Rays but have still won 15 of their last 21 and are 21-9 at home

“A hard-fought series,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said after Sunday’s loss. “You saw two good teams going at it. Two teams that put up runs, have good pitching. We’re disappointed we lost the series, but I thought we played well.

–Field Level Media