Angels look to right ship against Rangers

The Los Angeles Angels will begin their 2019 home schedule Thursday night against the Texas Rangers, hoping more welcoming surroundings will help turn around what has been a poor start to the season -- their worst through six games since their inaugural season in 1961.

The Angels lost five of six games on their road trip against American League West division foes Oakland and Seattle, and there is no secret how it happened. The Angels scored only 13 runs in the six games, and six of those runs came in one game, their only victory last Friday.

They are hitting .178 as a team with a .240 on-base percentage, and their leading hitter so far is catcher Jonathan Lucroy, who is hitting .333 (6 for 18)

Mike Trout is 5 for 17 and Albert Pujols 4 for 19, and the club has just one home run, coming from Kole Calhoun.

"It's frustrating," Lucroy told reporters after the Angels' loss to the Mariners on Tuesday. "Baseball's a game of millimeters. If you're a millimeter off, it's the difference between a homer and a flyout. That's just the way the game is, and it's a very difficult game, very hard game."

Angels manager Brad Ausmus said the offensive problems are magnified because it is happening at the beginning of the season.

"If this happens in July, it's a little more of a blip on the radar," Ausmus said. "I don't get too caught up in when it happens. You want to win every game, but there is certainly time to right the ship."

Right-hander Matt Harvey will start on the mound for the Angels, coming off a solid performance in his first outing when he gave up two runs and four hits in six innings last Friday against Oakland. Though Harvey got a no-decision, the Angels got their only win of the season.

Having spent all six previous major league seasons in the National League, Harvey has never faced the Rangers.

Edinson Volquez, who will start for Texas, had a shaky first outing, giving up four runs on six hits and four walks in just four innings in an 8-6 win against the Cubs last Saturday.

He has not pitched well against the Angels in his career, going 1-4 with a 10.71 ERA in six games (four starts).

"I think we're still making adjustments," Volquez told mlb.com, speaking about the pitching staff as a whole. "Every time we pitch it's going to be better each time. What I see right row, everybody's still healthy, and that's the biggest thing for us. You look over at the velo (velocity) on the scoreboard and everybody's over 90 (mph), and that's what we want."

With their win Wednesday over Houston, the Rangers are 4-2. Asdrubal Cabrera, signed as a free agent during the off season, is off to a hot start, leading the club with three homers and sporting a 1.019 OPS.

Cabrera has big shoes to fill, taking over third base for future Hall of Famer Adrian Beltre, who retired after last season.

--Field Level Media