Angels Favored to Win Series Opener With Oakland
Who: Oakland Athletics v. Los Angeles Angels
When: Friday August 4th, 2017 10:07PM EST
Where: Angel Stadium—Anaheim, California
Over the last week or so, the Angels seem to have grabbed ahold of some momentum, the likes of which just might be able to propel them into the post-season. Prior to the recent sweep of the Phillies, the Los Angeles team took 2 of 3 from Toronto in Toronto. For the Angels, it isn’t a matter of ability as much as it is a matter of execution. If they can continue to execute like they have been over the past week, things might just work out for them in the end.
When it comes to the Athletics, there has not been much to talk about for just about the entire season. Even more recently, the dealing of Sonny Gray to the Yankees was just about the best indicator that the A’s have packed things in and will try again next season. Pinpointing what, exactly, has doomed the Athletics is a tough thing to do, because they have been bad on just about every level. After all, you don’t sink to more than 20 games back of the division leaders by playing solid baseball. While I would like to say positive things about the Athletics, there really isn’t much to say.
Game Overview and Analysis
The Angels (-130) will open this series up fully aware of the fact that another sweep might put them into a Wildcard position. Though this is not necessarily a guarantee, a sweep would most definitely not hurt their cause. Opening the series for the Angels is a guy who is making his first start after being called up from AAA Salt Lake City a few weeks ago. On the mound for the Angels will be Troy Scribner (1-0 4.50 ERA). Since being called up last week, Scribner has pitched 4 innings of relief and, in his first ever MLB appearance, earned a victory. Despite the fact that most, if not all, of his 2017 statistics have come from the minors, the right-hander has really impressed and has earned his first start.
At AAA Salt Lake, Scribner was 10-3 with a 4.16 ERA. These stellar numbers propelled him into MLB, but now is when the real test begins. As for the Angels as a whole, the last 6 games have been great. They have been able to hit the ball, score runs, and play solid defense. Though the Phillies are no great team, what the Angels did against them was impressive. Through the first 2 games of the series the Angels had won both games by a combined score of 14-1. In the series finale it took a gutsy Angels performance to earn the victory. It will be interesting to see if Los Angeles can keep their momentum up heading into yet another pivotal series.
For the Athletics (+110), it will be right-handed youngster Jharel Cotton (5-8 5.49 ERA) who will make the start. Cotton has only one year of MLB experience under his belt, but he has done well with the Athletics this year, especially when you consider just how bad the A’s have been. He is prone to giving up a few runs, but for a guy that is only 25, Cotton has shown some glimpses of durability. Now that the season is over and the pressure is off, perhaps Cotton will emit another great performance and build his resume for next season.
Betting Prediction
Given their recent form, I think you would have to be crazy to not bet on the Angels (-130) moneyline. The odds offered by Bovada are fairly close to even money, and I think that is interesting considering just how much better a team the Angels are. To make what can be a longer story short, the Angels should handily win this game, even if Scribner does not have the best of outings.
According to Bovada, the over/under for this game is listed at an even 9 runs (-125/-105). I think you should take the under (-105) in this one because I don’t think that the Athletics are going to score many runs, and I don’t necessarily think the Angels are going to approach a 9-run tally.
The value bet for this game is the Angels’ spread, which sees them listed as -1.5 run favorites (+150). Not only do I think this spread will be covered by Los Angeles, I think it will be covered fairly easily.