Angels Rolling Into Tampa Bay For Three-Game Series Against AL-Best Rays

The Los Angeles Angels may be near the bottom of the Major League Baseball standings and tied for worst team in the American League at 22-35, but the team has rattled off two consecutive series wins including a sweep over the AL West-rival Texas Rangers.

Vibes are high in the Angels clubhouse right now and riding those vibes into a series against the Tampa Bay Rays, the best team in the AL, is exactly how you knock off a team of that caliber.

Los Angeles took care of business against the Detroit Tigers on the road, winning the rubber match 7-1 Thursday to clinch the series. Right-hander Grayson Rodriguez, who was acquired from the Baltimore Orioles in a trade involving left fielder Taylor Ward, earned his second straight win after tossing five innings of one-run ball on two hits and two walks while fanning five.

Rodriguez outdueled veteran righty Jack Flaherty, who fell to 0-7 after allowing three runs on six hits and one walk despite striking out nine in 5.2 innings of work. The Tigers have had as bad of a season as the Angels (tied with a 22-35 record), but Detroit is coming off back-to-back AL Division Series appearances and were expected to run away with the AL Central.

If the Angels can use this momentum to steal a game or even the series from the Rays, it could potentially jumpstart a run and get the Halos back in the division race. Young right-hander Walbert Urena will get the ball for the Angels against Tampa Bay righty Nick Martinez, who has been lights-out since becoming a Ray.

Urena is 2-4 with a 2.58 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 36 strikeouts through nine appearances (seven starts, 38.1 innings). He was excellent against the Rangers his last time out, pitching five innings and allowing one run on five hits and three walks while punching out six.

Urena has been amazing since joining the starting rotation. As a reliever, the 22-year-old allowed a slash line of .417/.533/.500 (1.033 OPS) in a limited sample size of 1.2 innings – but as a starter, Urena has allowed a slash line of .198/.301/.282 (.583 OPS).

Martinez is enjoying the Rays’ analytics department and pitching lab, as he is 4-1 with a 1.51 ERA (third), 1.11 WHIP and 36 strikeouts through 10 starts (59.2 innings). Martinez only racked up one strikeout against the New York Yankees his last time out, but he limited them to just one run on a solo home run while allowing nine hits and a walk in six innings.

First pitch is at 4:10 p.m. PDT on MLB.TV and regional sports networks.