• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Angels-Rangers Preview

Jul 3, 2015 - 3:16 AM (AP) - Although the Los Angeles Angels' season hasn't been particularly good, it has been interesting in a lot of bad ways.

Two days after general manager Jerry Dipoto walked out on the Angels, they'll visit Arlington on Friday to face the Rangers and Josh Hamilton for the first time since Los Angeles paid him an astonishing amount to go away.

Weird tension and curious decisions have become normal for the Angels during mercurial owner Arte Moreno's tenure, but the dramas of the current season have been uncommonly disruptive, according to manager Mike Scioscia and his players.

Hamilton's prolonged departure and Dipoto's abrupt resignation have been major distractions, yet Scioscia takes comfort in the fact that the Angels are still 41-38 and just five games back in second place in the AL West.

''The one thing about this game is it doesn't stop,'' Scioscia said. ''Every day, you have to go out there and perform. You learn how to filter out distractions, whatever they may be. Our guys are pretty good at that. So whatever distractions or drama creeps up, we're going to go out there and get ready to play a ballgame.''

While the Angels flew to Texas to begin a nine-game road trip heading into the All-Star break, interim general manager Bill Stoneman started work Thursday in pace of Dipoto, who apparently quit in response to a pair of team meetings going poorly last weekend.

The team was likely grateful to get out of town even if it means they're running into Hamilton, who remains friends with several of his teammates from two lousy years in Anaheim.

''Obviously we bonded here and had a good friendship,'' AL MVP Mike Trout said. ''He's a great guy. Just hopefully he doesn't get hits against us.''

Moreno probably isn't his friend: He shipped Hamilton back to Texas (41-39) in late April, angrily agreeing to pay most of the remainder of Hamilton's $125 million free-agent deal after Hamilton self-reported a relapse in his sobriety.

Scioscia also criticized Hamilton on the way out the door, saying the slugger lacked ''accountability'' to his teammates. The manager is eager to see Hamilton's reaction to the Angels' arrival.

''Hopefully he'll publicly take an opportunity to thank the teammates that supported him,'' Scioscia said. ''And again, I really think that he should reach out to Arte and let Arte know that maybe some of the things he did weren't what he signed up to do. We'll leave it at that.''

Despite these distractions and a largely inept offense behind Trout and Albert Pujols, the Angels are playing some of their best baseball of the season, winning four in a row and six of eight before wrapping up a nine-game homestand with a 3-1 loss to the New York Yankees on Wednesday.

Trout and Pujols each hit three homers on the homestand while Erick Aybar went 10 for 27.

The Angels' starting staff has been even more impressive. Matt Shoemaker suffered the loss Wednesday, but still pitched 5 2-3 solid innings to cap off a seven-game stretch in which the rotation combined to allow just 10 runs in 45 1-3 innings - a 1.99 ERA.

Garrett Richards (8-5, 3.54 ERA) will be tasked with continuing that run on the road, where the Angels have dropped nine of 13 since May 23. They've posted a team ERA of 5.00 in those contests compared with a 3.11 ERA in 24 home games during that same span.

Richards allowed two runs over 7 2-3 innings in a 4-2 win over Seattle on Monday, but he has a 5.17 ERA away from Anaheim even after a pair of quality outings in his last two on the road.

He has won his last five starts against the Rangers behind a 2.16 ERA after allowing only three hits over seven innings in a 3-2 win against the Rangers on April 24.

Chi Chi Gonzalez (2-3, 2.59) takes the mound for a Texas team that beat Baltimore 2-0 on Thursday but was swept in its last home stay, losing three straight to Oakland from June 23-25. The rookie began that skid by allowing six runs over 5 2-3 innings and followed with his third consecutive defeat Sunday after giving up three runs over six innings at Toronto.

The Angels took two of three in both series with Texas this season and are 11-2 at the Globe Life Park in Arlington since July 10.

Hamilton is 3 for 8 with a run since returning to the Rangers' lineup on Tuesday.