The Detroit Tigers and LA Angels are playing on Thursday night for the start of their series at Angel Stadium of Anaheim and the pitching matchup has Max Scherzer against Garrett Richards and they have been two of the best in the league and this is a matchup of AL leaders and both are currently in playoff position and this game is on MLB Network.

Richards and Scherzer have both been great and they have 22 wins combined and they have five losses and Richards has been on a roll as of late. Richards went up against Felix Hernandez last time he was out and now Scherzer comes in with a 3-0 record and a sub 2.00 ERA in his last five starts. Richards has been just as good, as he is coming in at 7-0 in his last nine starts and now he is moving into ace territory.

The Angels come into the game after winning over the Orioles and they have been playing well and are closing in on the Oakland Athletics. The AL West has been a tight division all season and the team is ranked first in the league in runs and third in batting average and they are also third in on base percentage and fourth in slugging. The pitching has been going well also and they are eighth in WHIP and fourth in BAA and the next matchup has Drew Smyly against Tyler Skaggs and that could be a good one as well. The Angels got a win from Jered Weaver and a save from Huston Street and now they play four with the Tigers.

The Angels have 60 wins and the Tigers come in after a win against the Diamondbacks and now they are looking to stay hot on the road. The team is ranked in the top five in offense and they are ranked fourth in runs and second in batting average and the Tigers are also second in on base and slugging percentage. The team is ranked 10th in quality starts and they are in the bottom half of the league in ERA and BAA.

The Angels and Tigers are both in playoff position and they are looking to stay there and right now they both look very likely to get in. The Mariners have been slumping this week and they have lost some ground in the wild card and now they are in it with the Jays and the Yankees and they really need to get it together. The team called up Chris Taylor and traded for Kendrys Morales and now they may have some offense coming down the line.

Check here for the Detroit Tigers and LA Angels live coverage from MLB.