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Angels look to continue dominance over Rangers

May 11, 2007 - 1:42 PM LA Angels (19-16) at Texas (14-20) 8:05 pm EDT

ARLINGTON, Texas (Ticker) -- The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim snapped out of their offensive funk on Thursday. They have had no problem getting their bats going against the Texas Rangers this season.

The Angels look to continue their dominance over the Rangers when the teams face off in the opener of a four-game series on Friday.

Anaheim had not scored more than three runs in six of its last seven games but broke out on Thursday, posting an 8-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians. The Angels tied their largest margin of victory this season and recorded their highest scoring output since posting an 11-3 victory on April 26.

Despite some offensive problems this campaign, the Angels had no problem slugging against the Rangers in a season-opening three-game sweep. Anaheim outscored Texas, 17-7, in the three wins.

It will look to continue that success against the Rangers behind John Lackey (4-3, 2.60 ERA), who allowed four runs and eight hits in eight frames in a 6-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox last Saturday.

Lackey is 7-8 with a 5.38 ERA in 20 career starts vs. the Rangers.

Texas will counter with Vicente Padilla (1-4, 4.93), who picked up his first win of the season in his last outing. The righthander allowed two runs and six hits in seven innings in an 11-4 win over Toronto on Saturday.

The Rangers salvaged the final game of a three-game series vs. the New York Yankees on Thursday, posting a convincing 14-2 victory. Mark Teixeira went 4-for-5 with three RBI as Texas pounded out a season-high 16 hits and ended an eight-game losing streak against New York.