The Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Angels will face off in the series finale of a three-game set on Sunday. The Angels took the first two games and will look to complete the sweep, while the Orioles will be looking for a little redemption. Neither team is in any position to make a run for the playoffs, but this should be an entertaining game nonetheless. It's time to continue our MLB odds series and make an Orioles-Angels prediction and pick.
Before we get into the pick, let's see how the bookmakers have set the odds for this game.
MLB Odds: Orioles-Angels Odds
Baltimore Orioles +1 1/2 (-103)
Los Angeles Angels -1 1/2 (-117)
Over 10 runs (-117)
Under 10 runs (-103)
Why The Orioles Could Cover The Spread
The Orioles haven't done much winning this season, but they've started to turn that around lately. They just completed a sweep of one of the best teams in baseball, winning three straight on the road against the Houston Astros.
The offense looked fantastic in that series, and that could shine through again Sunday despite two straight losses. Opposing starter Patrick Sandoval has been solid all year, but he's nothing to be afraid of. Baltimore is significantly better against left-handed pitching, giving them a nice advantage against Sandoval.
While Sandoval has been a solid pitcher for most of the season, one of his flaws is his inability to work deep into baseball games. He usually covers five innings and then gives way to an Angels bullpen that has been shaky at best all season long. Only one member of the Los Angeles relief corps has an ERA under 3.00. If the Orioles can get to the bullpen early, there's a great chance they score enough runs to hang around with the Angels.
Why The Angels Could Cover The Spread
The Orioles have been hot at the plate lately, but the Angels have been even hotter. Los Angeles has scored five runs or more in five of its last six games, also winning five of those six games. The offense is clicking and should continue to click against Baltimore starter Thomas Eshelman.
Eshelman has only made three appearances this season, but none of them have been particularly good. He has earned himself an ERA of 6.57 and a WHIP of 1.70. Both stats are a little inflated because of the number of innings he has pitched, but they are still subpar. I expect the Angels to hit Eshelman early and often.
Another one of Eshelman's flaws is his tendency to get pulled early in the game. He has never made it past the fourth inning, meaning that the Baltimore bullpen is in for a long night. The relieving corps has been absolutely atrocious all season for the Orioles, so the streaking Angels should be able to put up a lot of runs on them.
Final Orioles-Angels Prediction & Pick
The Orioles have been a tough out recently, but it's hard to believe that they can keep this game close against a very hot Angels team. The pitching situation is just too shaky to pick the Orioles, so I'm going with Los Angeles. It may stay close throughout the early innings, but I expect LA to pull away late and put plenty of runs on the board.
FINAL PICK: Los Angeles Angels -1 1/2 (-117)
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