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The Angels and Yankees wrap up a three-game series on Wednesday afternoon in Anaheim. The Angels will look to complete the sweep. It’s time to continue our MLB odds series and make a Yankees-Angels prediction and pick.
After winning 13 consecutive games, the Yankees have now dropped four games in a row. Meanwhile, the Angels have won their past three games, yet still find themselves 8.5 games out of a competitive AL Wild Card race. In the series finale, the pitching matchup is one of baseball’s best pitchers (Gerrit Cole) versus an Angels rookie (Packy Naughton).
Here’s how the bookmakers have set the lines for Wednesday’s game.
MLB Odds: Yankees-Angels Odds
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New York Yankees -1 1/2 (-165)
Los Angeles Angels +1 1/2 (+145)
Over 8 1/2 runs (-107)
Under 8 1/2 runs (-113)
Why The Angels Could Cover The Spread
Los Angeles’ starting pitcher has just made two career starts, both coming in August 2021. He does have a very good 1.69 ERA, but his sample size is far too small to find any meaning behind that number. But the Angels could make this game close off the strength of their bats. In the Angels two wins versus the Yankees thus far in the series, they’ve scored 14 total runs, including at least six in both games. This output was supported by three Angel home runs, one off the bat of star pitcher/DH Shoehi Ohtani. In his last start against the Angels, Gerrit Cole allowed just one run – but it was a home run to Justin Upton. The way the Angels offense is playing recently, if they can find their power again against Cole, runs should be no problem – even considering how dominant Cole usually is. Keep in mind that in July, Cole had games of allowing four earned run to the Mets and seven earned runs to the Rays, so he’s shown that he can pitch ineffectively every so often. The Angels and their team .729 OPS have the lineup to do damage against Cole, and given that they’ve outperformed the Yankees all series, this can result in an Angels win more likely people might be thinking.
Why The Yankees Could Cover The Spread
Outside of a few rough outings this season, Gerrit Cole remains one of the best pitchers in all of baseball. In three starts this month, Cole holds an insane 0.51 ERA over 17 2/3 innings. His one earned run in this span was a home run to the Angels, but he still dominated in that start against the Halos; Cole threw nine strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings, earning the win. In fact, he’s earned the win in all three starts this month. It’s tough to call a September 1 game “must win”, but given the Yanks recent losing skid, this might be true. After Thursday, the Yankees do not have an off day until September 23. Their upcoming schedule is nothing too difficult, but at the same time it would not be an ideal situation to head back home as losers of five consecutive contests. Look for Cole to throw a gem tonight and give the Yankees a much-needed win ahead of their flight back to New York. With games coming up at home against Baltimore and Toronto, this can be the start of another lengthy winning streak for the Yankees.
Final Yankees-Angels Prediction & Pick
Gerrit Cole throws at least 6.0 shutout frames, Stanton collects an extra-base RBI, and the Yankees win easily 7-1 over the Angels to close out the series. The Angels rookie start does not make it out of the third inning, as the Yanks never relinquish their early lead.
FINAL PICK: Yankees -1 1/2 (-165)