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The Tampa Bay Rays begin their last homestand of the season as they face the Los Angeles Angels. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with an Angels-Rays prediction, pick, and how to watch.
The Angels enter the series after being swept by the Tigers and losing five straight games. The season has crashed down for the Angels, between injuries and poor play, the Angels will finish below .500. The Angels will also not make the playoffs again this year. This means if the Angels move Mike Trout, his only playoff appearances will be in 2014, a three-game sweep at the hands of the Kansas City Royals.
Meanwhile, the Rays are playoff-bound. They come in off a series split with the Baltimore Orioles in four games over the weekend. At 92-59, the Rays have the second-best record in the American League. They also have the fourth-best record in all of baseball. Still, they sit 2.5 games behind the Orioles for the top spot in the American League East, and most likely the league. The Rays are just four games away from guaranteeing home field in the Wild Card round but catching the Orioles is their goal.
Here are the Angels-Rays MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Angels-Rays Odds
Anaheim Angels: +1.5 (-122)
Tampa Bay Rays: -1.5 (+102)
Over: 8 (-110)
Under: 8 (-110)
How To Watch Angels vs. Rays
TV: BSW/BSSUN
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 6:40 PM ET/ 3:40 PM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Angels Could Cover The Spread
With many of the Angel's top bats out of the lineup, pitching is going to have to carry the Angels. On the year, they are 23rd in team ERA, 25th in WHIP, and 23rd in opponent batting average. They sent Patrick Sandoval to the mound today. He is 7-13 on the year with a 4.48 ERA. Sandoval has had some great starts this year but has gotten beaten up in the last three. In his last three starts, Sandoval has given up 22 runs, 20 earned, in just 13.2 innings of work. That is good for a 9.22 ERA. He has struggled with walks, walking seven batters in the last three starts.
At the plate, the Angels are 15th in runs scored, 18th in batting average, 18th in on-base percentage, and eighth in slugging. the top bat in the lineup as of late has been Nolan Schanuel. He is hitting .375 in the last week with a .412 on-base percentage. He has a double and a home run but has only scored twice. Further, his only RBI is from his solo home run. The only player in the lineup who has more than two RBIs in the last week is Jared Walsh. He has three in the last week while hitting .222. That is from the help of two home runs, his only two hits over the last week in limited at-bats.
Meanwhile, David Fletcher also has two RBIs in the last week. He is hitting .364 with a .417 on-base percentage. He has a home run as well, which has led to his only run scored. In the last week, the Angels are heavily struggling. They are hitting just .170 with a .226 on-base percentage. The Angels have struck out 67 times, over one-third of their at-bats. Meanwhile, they have scored just 11 runs.
Why The Rays Could Cover The Spread
While the Rays took two of four from the Orioles, they had some solid performances at the play. They scored 15 runs in four games but were shut out in one of them. On the year, the Rays are fourth in baseball in runs scored, while sitting ninth in batting average, seventh in on-base percentage, and fourth in slugging. Harold Ramirez comes into this game hot. In the last week, he has hit .455 with a double and a home run. This has helped him drive in four runs while scoring once.
Meanwhile, Brandon Lowe continues to produce. He is hitting just .200 with a .227 on-base percentage, but he has two home runs and a double. That has led to four RBIS and four runs scored in the last week. Randy Arozarena is also coming in hitting well. In the last week, he is hitting .308 with a .333 on-base percentage. He has hit a double, a triple, and a home run in that time with one run scored and three RBIs.
As a whole, the Rays are hitting just .216 with a .251 on-base percentage. They have hit eight home runs in the last week while scoring 22 times. This is on an expected 19.3 runs, so they are making the most of opportunities.
The Rays will send Taj Bradley to the mound today. He is 5-7 on the year with a 5.56 ERA. After not pitching in August, the Rays have won all three of Bradley's starts in September. He has pitched 16 innings giving up ten runs, nine earned. That is good for a 5.06 ERA. Meanwhile, he has struck out seven batters in two of the three outings. He has had some trouble with the long ball though. He has given up two or more home runs in each of his last two starts while giving up four runs in each of them. Still, he has gotten solid run support, and while he has not recorded a win, the Rays are winning.
Final Angels-Rays Prediction & Pick
Both Patrick Sandoval and Taj Bradley come into the game with some struggles as of late. Still, Bradley has been better. He is limiting contact and striking out more. The Angels strike out the fourth most in the majors against right-handed pitching this year. With Bradley having such a high strike-out rate, expect that to continue today. When Bradley is giving up contact, it has been good contact, and many times gone yard. The Angels do not have the bats in the lineup to take advantage of that. They are not making good contact right now and struggling at the plate. The Rays are not hitting much better, but hitting well enough to take advantage of the good pitching match-up with Sandoval.
Final Angels-Rays Prediction & Pick: Rays -1.5 (+102)
