The Oakland Athletics take on the Los Angeles Angels. Check out our MLB odds series for our Athletics Angels prediction and pick.

 

Frankie Montas gets the call for the Athletics, while Michael Lorenzen is the starter for the Angels.

Frankie Montas has a 3.67 ERA. He gave up five runs on Opening Day, April 8, and five more on April 29, but in most of his starts, he has been excellent. In five of his eight appearances this season, Montas has pitched at least six full innings and allowed no more than two runs. He is giving the A's production, consistency, and a lot of innings. There is ample speculation that the fire-sale-minded A's, very possibly on their way out of Oakland and playing before very sparse crowds in the aging Oakland Coliseum, could trade Montas to a contender this summer. For that reason, Montas has a very high incentive to perform well right now, beyond anything connected to the A's. Keep that in mind when making an Athletics Angels prediction.

Michael Lorenzen has a 3.57 ERA. He has started six games. Two have been terrible — nine total earned runs in eight innings — while the other four starts have been superb. Lorenzen allowed five runs in 27 1/3 innings in those four quality outings. Will we see the good or bad version of Lorenzen in this game? The A's have a light-hitting lineup, so Lorenzen should feel he has a great opportunity to go deep into this game. This is part of the context when making an Athletics Angels pick based on the current MLB odds.

Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Athletics-Angels MLB odds.

MLB Odds: Athletics-Angels Odds

Oakland Athletics: +1.5 (-182)

Los Angeles Angels: -1.5 (+150)

Over: 7.5 (-112)

Under: 7.5 (-108)

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Why The Athletics Could Cover the Spread

Frankie Montas knows that he can make a lot of money by pitching well the next few months. He is in a position to gain leverage on the open market and get the trade and relocation which could define his career. That's a powerful incentive for him going into this matchup against the Angels.

Speaking of the Angels, they have lost four games in a row. The hitting has not been as dynamic as it was earlier in the season, when the Angels were 11 games over .500. This team has not been getting the big, late-inning clutch hit which helped the Halos rise so quickly in the American League West. Notably, their bullpen has struggled, something many people felt would be a problem this season. Teams often overachieve in the first month and a half of the season before regression kicks in late in the spring and early in the summer. This could be happening with the Halos. It's part of the backdrop to any Athletics Angels prediction you might make.

Why The Angels Could Cover the Spread

After losing four games in a row, the Angels are due for a good game. This batting order and this bullpen have gone through their worst week of the season, so a course correction seems like a good bet on Saturday.

What also has to be said is that Oakland is one of the weakest offensive teams in Major League Baseball. The A's have a thin batting order which has rarely been able to generate runs. The four runs scored on Friday against the Angels felt like an offensive explosion.

Final Athletics-Angels Prediction & Pick

If the Angels' losing streak makes you distrustful of them as a betting pick, that's fine. The under, given how poorly the A's and Angels have been hitting lately, might be the better play here. The A's have gone under the total a lot in the past three weeks.

Final Athletics-Angels Prediction & Pick: Under 7.5