(Sports Network) - Jon Garland hopes to duplicate his performance of his 2008 debut this afternoon, when the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim play the rubber match of their three-game series with the Texas Rangers at Angel Stadium.

Garland, acquired from Chicago this offseason for slick-fielding shortstop Orlando Cabrera, was sensational in his first start as an Angel Tuesday against the Minnesota Twins, allowing just a run and six hits in eight innings to nail down the win.

A native of Southern California, Garland will get to pitch in front of his new fans for the first time today as he tries to improve upon a 4-7 lifetime mark against the Rangers. In 17 games (16 starts) versus Texas, he has pitched to a 5.50 ERA.

Texas will pin its hopes on righty Vicente Padilla, who also had a strong season debut. Padilla, coming off an injury-plagued 2007 campaign, held the Seattle Mariners to just a run and eight hits in six innings on Tuesday, but did not factor in the decision of his team's 5-4 win that day.

Padilla has faced the Halos nine times (eight starts) in his career and is 3-2 with a 5.11 ERA against them.

In the second game of this set on Saturday, Howie Kendrick went 2-for-4 with an RBI, extending his hit streak to all six games in 2008, to lead Los Angeles to a 2-1 win. Torii Hunter added an RBI double while Gary Matthews Jr. went 3-for-4 with a run scored for the Angels, who bounced back from an 11-6 loss to Texas on Friday.

Jered Weaver (1-1) threw seven brilliant innings for the Angels, surrendering just three hits while fanning six. Francisco Rodriguez came in for the ninth and gave up just one hit to get his third save of the season.

David Murphy had a solo home run off Darren Oliver in the eighth inning for the lone run scored by the Rangers, who have lost two of three.

Kevin Millwood (0-2) gave up two runs on 12 hits, but he did go the distance for the Rangers. Millwood became the first Texas pitcher to throw a complete game in 195 games. The last Texas hurler to do so was Millwood on August 29, 2006.

The Angels won 10 of their 19 matchups with the Rangers last season and are 37-22 over the past three seasons against them, including a 21-9 mark in Anaheim over that time. The Rangers, though, have won six of the last seven in the series.