Two right-handers who hope to remain part of the starting

rotation next season will go head-to-head when the Los Angeles Angels host the Texas Rangers on Monday in the opener of a three-game series at Angel Stadium.Adrian Sampson is scheduled to make his fourth career start and third with the Rangers. Felix Pena will make his 17th start for the Angels since being converted from a reliever earlier this season.Sampson (0-2 Freddie Freeman Jersey , 4.09 ERA) made his starting debut with the Rangers on Sept. 11 at Angel Stadium. He held Los Angeles (75-81) to one run and two hits in five innings, but eight Angels relievers combined to shut out the Rangers 1-0 after holding them without a hit for 7 1/3 innings.Article continues below ...Angels first baseman Jose Fernandez hit his first major league home run in the second inning to account for the only run.The Rangers (66-89) didn’t provide any run support in Sampson’s second start either. He allowed two runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings of a 3-0 loss to the visiting Tampa Bay Rays on Monday. In the 10 2/3 innings that Sampson has been in the game as a starter, Texas has combined for one hit.Sampson told MLB.com after his last outing that he’s always been slotted as a fastball pitcher but likes the way he has been executing all of his pitches lately.“It has been good for two starts,” he said. “I am a workhorse and I can go deep in games. I can help the team. I can give them innings as a starting pitcher. I just want to show them that.”Before Texas manager Jeff Banister was fired Friday, he said the last week of the season will be important for players like Sampson.“These guys are still out here competing on a daily basis,” Banister told MLB.com after Sampson’s last start. Pena (3-5, 4.20) made his only appearance against the Rangers on Sept. 12 in Anaheim, throwing six shutout innings in the 8-1 victory. Pena has performed a lot more like that lately than he did in his last outing http://www.bravesfanproshop.com/authentic-bobby-cox-jersey , when he gave up six runs and six hits in four innings of a 10-0 loss to the Oakland A’s on Wednesday.Pena told MLB.com after the loss that he planned to quickly put that appearance behind him.“Some days you’re going to feel good, but you’re not going to be able to control what happens,” he said. “The only thing that I can control is to keep working hard like I’ve been doing and prepare for my next start.”Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons left a 6-2 loss at the Houston Astros on Sunday with a left knee injury but told reporters after the game that he hoped to play Monday.Angels center fielder Mike Trout rested Sunday after hitting a home run in five of the previous six games. He has 38 home runs this season, three shy of his career high set in 2015. DENVER — The Colorado Rockies will begin a crucial 10-game homestand Monday against the San Francisco Giants followed by three games against the Los Angeles Dodgers and four against the Arizona Diamondbacks.The Rockies, Dodgers and Diamondbacks are locked in a tight National League West race. Colorado is in second place, a half-game behind the Dodgers and a half-game ahead of the Diamondbacks.Winning a second straight game Sunday in San Diego enabled Colorado to salvage a split of a four-game series with the Padres and conclude a 3-3 road trip. The victory also left the Rockies 1 1/2 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals for the second NL wild-card spot.Article continues below ...The Rockies are 8-5 against the Giants this season and 5-1 at Coors Field. Left-hander Tyler Anderson (6-7, 4.79 ERA) will start for the Rockies and try to rebound after struggling in August. Left-handed ace Madiso Bumgarner (5-5, 2.68) will start for the Giants.Despite losing five of the past eight games http://www.bravesfanproshop.com/authentic-bob-uecker-jersey , the Rockies have gained a half-game in the standings during that stretch. They are 34-30 at home, including 11-7 since the All-Star break.In the Rockies’ 7-3 win over the Padres on Sunday, key late-game relievers Scott Oberg (2.64 ERA) and Adam Ottavino (2.01) each pitched a scoreless inning. Both have worked in two straight games and three of the past four.After the victory, Rockies manager Bud Black said, ” ‘Otto’ will be down (Monday). Oberg will be down. And the other guys who pitch in relief, if it’s a tight game with the Giants, have to come through for us. That’s what it’s going to take.”Improvement from Anderson could determine whether it’s a tight game. He gave up seven hits and six runs on Aug. 26 against St. Louis and lasted a career-low two-thirds of an inning as the Cardinals romped 12-3.The Rockies pushed back Anderson’s next start, and he will take the mound with seven days’ rest and hoping to improve his wayward command.Anderson went 0-4 with an 11.39 ERA in five August starts and allowed nine homers in 21 1/3 innings along with a .368 batting average and 1.174 OPS by opponents. He has gone nine starts since he last won July 4 when he blanked the Giants on two hits for eight innings at Coors Field.Anderson is 1-2 with a 4.11 ERA in five starts against the Giants Tyler Flowers Jersey , including two this season in which he’s 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA.Bumgarner threw seven shutout innings Tuesday against Atlanta but ended up with a no-decision in the Giants’ 1-0 win. He has allowed two or fewer earned runs in six of his past seven starts — the exception when he gave up a season-high five earned runs on Aug. 18 at Cincinnati — going 2-2 with a 2.11 ERA during that stretch while holding opponents to a .199 average and .676 OPS.Bumgarner is 12-8 with a 2.93 ERA in 28 career starts against the Rockies, including 0-1 with a 1.38 ERA in two starts this year. He’s 5-6 with a 3.93 ERA in 14 starts at Coors Field.In the past eight games, the Giants’ starters have a 1.20 ERA (seven earned runs, 52 1/3 innings). But San Francisco has scored three or fewer runs in six of its past nine games.The Giants (68-70) have dropped three of their past four games, including the final two of three to the New York Mets after trading right fielder Andrew McCutchen to the New York Yankees for two prospects just before the Aug. 31 trade deadline.The Giants acquired McCutchen last winter. No longer the middle-of-the lineup force he was in Pittsburgh, McCutchen noneheless played regularly for the Giants. But they are mired in fourth place, and with McCutchen eligible for free agency after the season, a trade http://www.bravesfanproshop.com/authentic-orlando-cepeda-jersey , while not welcome, made sense.“Contrary to some other general managers, our front office, we don’t necessarily relish the trade deadline and being involved in this,” Giants executive vice president for baseball operations Brian Sabean told the San Jose Mercury News. “You’ve got people going out the door that you’re invested in and you’re never really sure of the return, etc. We all know the drill.”