The Minnesota Twins take on the Los Angeles Angels. Check out our MLB odds series for our Twins Angels prediction and pick.
Tyler Mahle goes to the hill for the Twins, while Patrick Sandoval gets the call for the Angels.
Tyler Mahle toiled in relatively obscurity for the Cincinnati Reds. Then he got thrown into a division race when the Twins picked him up just before the trade deadline. In his first start with Minnesota, he pitched six innings and allowed four runs on Aug. 5 against the Blue Jays. That's a good Toronto team, but Mahle will need to do better if the Twins are going to view their acquisition as a difference-maker in the American League Central. The Twins have fallen behind the Cleveland Guardians in the Central race. This is a monster game at the start of a huge series for Minnesota, which needs to be able to beat up the bad teams as Cleveland has done in recent weeks. Mahle gets a chance to make a significant statement about his value to the Twins in this game.
Patrick Sandoval has a 3.41 ERA. One can make a very sharp distinction when sorting through his last six starts for the Angels. Three of his last six starts were terrible. He pitched 12 2/3 innings and allowed 14 runs. In the other three starts from his last six appearances, Sandoval pitched 17 1/3 innings and gave up only three runs. Which version of Sandoval are we going to get? That is a central question in this game on Friday night in Anaheim.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Twins-Angels MLB odds.
MLB Odds: Twins-Angels Odds
Minnesota Twins: -1.5 (+126)
Los Angeles Angels: +1.5 (-152)
Over: 8 (-110)
Under: 8 (-110)
Why The Twins Could Cover the Spread
The Twins just got hammered by the Los Angeles Dodgers in two losses, pushing them behind Cleveland in the American League Central. There's no shame in losing to the red-hot Dodgers, but now the pressure is on the Twins to make up ground in the standings. The urgency of this game and this weekend series should help Minnesota play better baseball. The fact that the Twins are going up against a bad Angel team should also help. Tyler Mahle should be able to overpower Angel hitters with his above-average fastball.
Also keep in mind that since the Twins did play the Dodgers on Wednesday (as opposed to any other team in the majors), they did not have to fly on a plane to get to Anaheim. They might have taken a bus a few miles across town, but they stayed in the Los Angeles area and therefore had a true off day on Thursday: not only avoiding playing a game, but not having to fly to another city. The Twins should be fresh and rested for this game. They needed the break.
Why The Angels Could Cover the Spread
After seeing Tyler Mahle have some difficulties in his first start in the American League, the Angels can say to themselves that they're facing a very vulnerable and beatable pitcher. Mahle does have a good fastball, but if he is not locating it, he becomes ordinary. The Angels have actually played decent baseball in recent days. They swept the A's in Oakland and are 5-2 in their last seven games. It's one of the best weeks this team has had since mid-May, when it was 10 games over .500 and in playoff position. The Angels are playing well. That's not a lie or an embellishment. Patrick Sandoval is a solid pitcher who gives the Halos a very decent chance of winning this game.
Final Twins-Angels Prediction & Pick
Tyler Mahle is getting used to the American League. The Angels are playing surprisingly well, but they did beat the A's, one of the worst teams in baseball, so one shouldn't overvalue their recent improvements. This game is mysterious on many levels. That's the kind of game you should stay away from. If you absolutely insist on making a pick, lean to the Twins, since they have been able to rest their bodies in Los Angeles over the past few days.
Final Twins-Angels Prediction & Pick: Twins -1.5
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