The Texas Rangers and Houston Astros likely will be the teams to beat in the AL West. Even if Mike Trout stays healthy, the Angels' playoff chances look bleak.

Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker have both made the opening day roster with the Texas Rangers, and the recent first-round draft picks will fill the final two spots in the rotation.

As fans turn their attention to opening day ( 3:05 p.m. Thursday vs. the Red Sox at Globe Life Field ), our SportsDay team of experts (beat writers Evan Grant and Shawn McFarland and columnist Kevin Sherrington) answer some burning questions about the Rangers. To see Part 1 of our Rangers roundtable, click here.

The Angels are known for expediting draftees to Anaheim. They had the first player from the 2021 Draft to arrive in the Majors (Chase Silseth), the first three from 2022 (Zach Neto, Ben Joyce, Victor Mederos),

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts hopes that their American League counterpart, the Angels, find some success this season.

Thursday exemplified that. He earned a spot in the starting lineup vs. Boston lefty Garrett Crochet because of his prowess vs. southpaws and hit the first pitch he saw from Crochet in the second inning back up the middle for a single that scored Jake Burger for the Rangers’ first run this season.

Jack Leiter (0-0) BOTTOM LINE: The Boston Red Sox face the Texas Rangers with a 1-0 series lead. Texas went 78-84 overall and 44-37 in home games last season. The Rangers averaged 8.0 hits per game last season while batting a collective .

MLB Opening Day has come and gone, with 28 of the league's 30 teams in action Thursday. Friday's slate is slightly lighter with just nine games on tap, but that doesn't mean bettors can't look forward to some tantalizing matchups.