The Los Angeles Angels will head down to Florida to take on the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday night. It’s time to continue our MLB odds series and make an Angels-Blue Jays prediction and pick. Toronto will thankfully head home after a tough three-game series loss against the Rangers in Texas. The Angels split a two-game skid against the Astros after defeating the Chicago White Sox in their opening series. Ross Stripling will get the ball for the second time this year for Toronto and Griffin Canning will make his season debut for LA.
Here’s how sportsbooks have set the opening Angels-Blue Jays odds.
MLB Odds: Angels-Blue Jays Odds
Los Angeles Angels +1.5 (-184)
Toronto Blue Jays -1.5 (+164)
Over 10 Runs (-106)
Under 10 Runs (-114)
Why The Angels Could Cover The Spread
The Los Angeles Angels played a hard-fought two-game series against the Houston Astros after an impressive series win against the Chicago White Sox to open the 2021 campaign. The Angels have had a promising start to the year, taking three of their first five games against two projected playoff teams. Los Angeles now has a tough test against a Toronto rotation that is in the top-10 in team ERA so far. They do get a chance to face Ross Stripling, who had a very tough performance against the Yankees in his season debut.
Los Angeles bats have been scorching hot to start the year as they have averaged 5.50 runs per game with a .733 team OPS. The Angels enter this game looking for a bounce back after a two-run performance in the series finale against Houston. They will send out right-hander Griffin Canning for his first start of the season. The 24-year-old had a 3.99 ERA and 1.37 WHIP last season with 56 strikeouts. He has a nice matchup against a Blue Jay team that is averaging just 6.8 hits through their first six games.
Why The Blue Jays Could Cover The Spread
The Toronto Blue Jays have already had an up-and-down season in 2021. After a huge opening series victory against the rival Yankees, Toronto had a horrid series loss against the Texas Rangers. Toronto will be looking for a much needed win in the first game of this three-game set with LA. The youth movement is real for the Blue Jays as this young lineup is full of pop. The Blue Jays should have a good chance to get the bats back on track against Griffin Canning.
Canning allows over 63% of balls to be put in play through the air. In a strikeout-heavy league, it has to be nice to enter a matchup against a pitcher that pitches to contact. All the Blue Jays really have to do against the Angels is put the ball in play. Los Angeles has committed six errors in six games, which is the second-most in baseball. Veteran right-hander Ross Stripling will get his second start of the year, with his first being one to forget. Stripling allowed seven hits and three earned runs in 3.1 innings against New York in his season debut.
Final Angels-Blue Jays Prediction & Pick
This game should be full of offense. Two of the league's best lineups face off against two pitchers that pitch to contact. That means guys like Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout, Vlad Guerrero Jr., and Bo Bichette could do some real damage. The Angels have been hitting the over in runs pretty often to start the year and the Blue Jays are one good performance away from doing the same. If Ross Stripling's first performance was any indicator, look for runs early and often.
FINAL PICK: Over 10 Runs (-106)
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