Angels vs. Rangers: Live Stream, Injuries, Pitching Matchups and Fantasy Preview

The Los Angeles Angels and Texas Rangers are two teams that had high expectations coming into the season. While the Rangers have thrived en route to the league's best record, the Angels have struggled despite high-profile free-agent additions.

Los Angeles finds itself in the AL West basement, already seven games behind Texas with only one month of games completed. Even though there's still plenty of time left in the season, the Angels need to start turning things around soon.

The road has been a lot smoother in the early going for the Rangers. They are second in runs scored and third in runs against, so it's no surprise they have been winning on a consistent basis. It's exactly the type of start every team dreams about coming out of spring training.

Let's take a look ahead to Friday's series opener as the Rangers look to keep rolling and the Angels hope to find a groove.

When: Friday, May 11 at 8:05 p.m. ET

Where: Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas

Watch: FSW (Angels) or KTXA (Rangers)

Live Stream: MLB.tv

Injury Report (via CBS Sports)

Angels: LaTroy Hawkins (out, finger) and Scott Downs (questionable, knee)

Rangers: No injuries to report

Starting for Los Angeles: C.J. Wilson

After spending the first seven seasons of his career with the Rangers, Wilson bolted for the Angels during the offseason. He's continued to improve despite the added pressure from the big contract he was given to switch sides in the rivalry.

Wilson is on pace to have the best season of his career with a 2.61 ERA through six starts thanks to an eye-popping .184 batting average against. The peripheral stats suggest he's due for a little bit of regression, but nothing major.

He's been one of the league's most reliable starters since converting from the bullpen two years ago. And since he was a late bloomer, he's pitched far less innings and that should allow the Angels' investment to pay off nicely.

Starting for Texas: Yu Darvish

Following a run of Japanese starting pitchers that didn't live up to the hype, fans were rightfully cautious about the future of Darvish after he made the jump to the Rangers. So far he's done nothing to suggest he won't be a top-tier starter for years to come.

His ERA checks in at 2.54 to go along with a 4-1 record in his first six MLB starts. He's walked too many hitters, which is something he'll need to improve moving forward, but his high strikeout rate has enabled him to get out of jams.

Now that the hoopla has begun to fade away, it will be a lot easier for Darvish to settle in and just worry about pitching instead of all the outside demands. One he improves his control a bit, he's going to become a dominant force.

Angels' Fantasy Studs

Howie Kendrick

Kendrick has helped give the Angels offense at least a little boost on a roster otherwise full of players hitting well below their normal levels of production. His .816 OPS is the best of his career and he has cranked out four home runs.

When Kendrick debuted there was a lot of talk about him becoming a future batting champion. While it doesn't look like he'll ever reach that plateau, he's a solid player across the board and should be a key piece as the Angels fight back from a slow start.

Albert Pujols

No player in the baseball has been a bigger disappointment through one month than Pujols. With one-fifth of the season nearly in the books, the high-priced slugger is still hitting below the Mendoza Line with only one home run.

That's obviously not what the Angels were expecting when they gave him a monster contract to lure him away from the St. Louis Cardinals. It's widely assumed he'll bounce back, but the longer he struggles, the more questions will have to get asked about his future.

Rangers' Fantasy Studs

Josh Hamilton

Hamilton was having a tremendous season even before he hit four home runs against the Baltimore Orioles earlier in the week. After a minor setback in his recovery from alcoholism during the offseason, he's come out like a man with something to prove and he's done exactly that.

He definitely belongs in an elite class of players in terms of all-around ability, which makes him a fantasy baseball stud. Even though he'll go through a few rough patches to bring his amazing numbers down a bit, he'll still be a top run producer from here on out.

Elvis Andrus

Andrus was on base for all four of Hamilton's home runs on Tuesday night as he continues to grow as a player. His walk rate has increased, which has in turn played a major role in the nearly 50-point jump in the speedster's on-base percentage.

That helped strengthen the Rangers lineup and gives him more opportunities to steal bases, which is what fantasy owners are looking for out of him. Although his batting average will likely slide in the coming months, he's a young player entering his prime and should continue to grow in every area.

Prediction

Rangers 4, Angels 2