Halos Run Circles Around Devil Rays

Another premium matchup of American League baseball is in store for fans this evening. The Los Angeles Angels are headed to Tropicana Field to face off against the Tampa Bay Rays. Will the Angels send the home crowd packing, or will the Rays reign triumphantly in their home ballpark? Let’s break down the action to see who has the betting edge.

Showtime Angels

While the Los Angeles Angels currently sit at 36-38 at this point in this season, there is more than meets the eye. With Shohei Ohtani’s emergence as one of the brightest stars in baseball, the Angels have been showing out on the offensive end. The Angels hold the 4th best batting average in all of baseball, the 8th most runs scored, and 7th most homers in the major league, with Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon, and Shohei Ohtani leading the way. The team knows how to produce when needed, but their pitching always seems to let them down.

With Alex Wood on the mound today, this is an advantage for the Angels, as he is a solid two to Shohei Ohtani. He’s not anything special, but he’s not as volatile as some of their other starters who have control issues and should be able to produce some solid innings against a Rays team who is amongst the worst in the league in hitting. As long as the Angels score early, they should have enough punch to hold this lead to the very end.

Reeling Rays

Some may have a recency bias and think that since the Rays won the series against the Boston Red Sox, they should have some momentum coming into this game. However, that bias is wrong as the Rays were held to two hits by a Red Sox pitching staff that has been dreadful for most of the year. They may have won the game, but there’s not much momentum going for this Rays’ lineup right now.

In their last six games, the Rays have averaged a meager 3.66 runs against these opponents. On the year, the team ranks 25th in batting average, 20th in slugging percentage, and has the most total strikeouts in the entire league. It’s not a good sign that a struggling offense is now having to go against a power-hitting team that can flip the switch at any moment.

Value In Angels?
While the Rays hold the much better pitching staff in this matchup, this particular matchup with Shane McClanahan starting benefits the Angels rather than hurting them. The Angels have been more effective at driving in runs against lefties, and if they could shake off their rust from the San Francisco series, they can pack a punch in this game. BetOnline has the odds at (insert odds) for the Los Angeles Angels and (insert odds) for the Tampa Bay Rays. For the first five innings of this game, at the very least, the Angels could fire away at will with their bats, so their First 5 Innings Moneyline is the best play of the day with plus money.

OSB Official Pick: First 5 Innings Angels

ML

• Money line: Angels +135 (bet $100 to win $135) | Rays -160 (bet $160 to win $100)
• Against the spread/ATS: Angels +1.5 (-150) | Rays -1.5 (+125)
• Over/Under: 8 (O: -110 | U: -110)

(at BetOnline)

To get daily game analysis visit our blog, sign up for our free picks, and follow us on Instagram and youtube.

Current odds brought to you by BetOnline.