Angels vs. Astros Odds
| Angels Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Moneyline | Total | Run Line |
+112 | 7.5 -104 / -118 | +1.5 -184 |
| Astros Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Moneyline | Total | Run Line |
| -132 | 7.5 -104 / -118 | -1.5 +152 |
The Los Angeles Angels and Houston Astros continue their series tonight, and boy, do we have a great matchup on the mound. Shohei Ohtani will square off against Framber Valdez.
Ohtani has been excellent on the mound. He'll enter this start with a 5-1 record and a 2.91 ERA, and is also looking to improve on his outing against Houston last month.
As for Valdez, he's been equally as good; he holds a 2.38 ERA over 11 starts. One of those starts is a dominant performance against this Angels lineup, where he struck out 12 over eight innings of work.
Will this game be the pitcher's duel that we expect? Or will one offense find a way to break it open? Let's take a closer look to find out.
Los Angeles Angels
The Angels are right in the thick of things in the AL West, as they're two games above .500 and just 6.5 games behind the Rangers. They've remained competitive this season because the rest of their lineup has begun to pick up the slack around Mike Trout and Ohtani.
They enter this matchup 10th in the majors in XWOBACON and are hitting .258 as a team. Guys like Hunter Renfroe, Brandon Drury and Zach Neto have stepped up to solidify this lineup.
However, facing Valdez is no walk in the park. I talked about how he dominated them earlier this season, and that performance just added to an excellent track record.
The current Angels lineup has accumulated 131 at-bats against Valdez. In those at-bats, they have hit .229 and struck out 32% of the time.
In addition to that, not many of them have made good contact, and that has dropped their expected BAA to .192. So, Valdez should keep this lineup quiet once again.
Houston Astros
While I was singing the praises of the Angels' lineup, the same cannot be said for the defending World Series champions. Yes, the Astros have gotten healthier, and the return of Jose Altuve is huge for this lineup, but they still need multiple guys to pick it up.
Houston is hitting just .244 as a team, and despite having plenty of All-Star-level talent, the Astros aren't due for much positive regression. Their issue is their lack of hard contact.
The Astros have the eighth-lowest average exit velocity in baseball, and tonight they'll face a pitcher who has barely allowed them to make contact in general.
Being divisional rivals, the Astros are very familiar with Ohtani. The current order has accumulated 137 at-bats against Ohtani, and he's thoroughly shut them down.
Houston has hit .226 and struck out nearly 33% of the time against him. However, their average exit velocity against him is just 84.9 mph. That drags their expected batting average all the way down to .190.
Shohei has regained his form over his last few starts and should continue to roll tonight.
Angels vs. Astros Betting Pick
This is the type of pitcher's duel that baseball fans clamor for, and given how both of tonight's starters have looked, it should live up to the hype.
As we went through above, both starters have an extensive history of dominating the opposing lineups, and they both are only due to have more success.
I'm doubting either will falter, and I'm taking the under in the first five, as these two should duel deep into this game.
Pick: F5 Under 4 |
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