The Angels swept two games from the Dodgers last month, so the Blue Crew goes looking for a little revenge when the teams open a two-game Battle of LA series Tuesday night at Chavez Ravine. How are we playing this game with our free MLB pick?
MLB Betting Odds
The Dodgers are favored as high as -200 on some betting boards with the total offered up at 9 runs. The lines hit the board late so we haven’tr seen much movement at the time of writing.
Angels vs. Dodgers Set-Up
The Angels just took two of three games in Seattle over the weekend, winning Sunday’s series rubber match 9-3. They then had Monday off.
Just before that the Angels split with Houston, swept three games from the Mariners gving the Halos a 2-0-1 mark over their last three series and a 7-3 W/L record over their last ten games.
At 52-49 overall the Angels trail the division-leading Astros by 12.5 games in the AL West. But they’re also only five games behind Oakland in the battle for the second American League wild-card spot.
The Dodgers, meanwhile, just swept three games at home from Miami, winning Sunday 9-0. They also then had Monday off.
Just before that, the Dodgers split at Philadelphia, and prior to that took two of three in Boston. So, LA is 2-0-1 over its last three series and 7-2 over its last nine games.
At 67-35 the Dodgers lead the NL West by 15.5 games over both Arizona and San Francisco, and they’re 6.5 games up on Atlanta in the battle for the best record in the National League.
This series is the second meeting between these teams this season; six weeks ago the Angels swept two games from the Dodgers in Anaheim.
Tuesday’s Starting Arms
This pitching match-up is a rematch of a game played in July of last season, a 3-2 Angels victory at the Big A.
Maeda, by our strict standards, is only 6/19 on quality starts this season, and while he’s only recorded only two QS in his last five, he’s pitched reasonably well as of late. Most recently he tossed one perfect inning of relief last Friday against Miami, and over his previous seven appearances, he’s allowed 12 runs and 21 hits through 32 2/3 innings.
The Dodgers are 10-9 with Maeda this season, 3-2 over his last five starts.
Over his last two starts against the Angels, one last year and one earlier this season, Maeda gave up six runs and six hits through 10 innings. The Dodgers lost both those games.
Pena is 0/5 on quality starts this year and 0/1 since rejoining the rotation, following a stint working out of the bullpen. Last Wednesday he got bombed by Houston for eight runs in less than five innings of an 11-2 Angels loss. But over his three appearances before that, he only allowed five runs and five hits through 16 innings.
The Angels are 2-3 when Pena starts this season.
Over three career appearances against the Dodgers, two last year and one earlier this season, Pena allowed five runs and 12 hits through 13 innings.
Tuesday’s Batting Splits
The Angels are batting .266/.338/.451 against right-handed pitching this season. Numbers like those help this unit rank among the top half-dozen in Baseball in this split.
The Dodgers are batting .269/.351/.492 against RH pitching this season. So LA ranks in the top three in the Majors in this split.
The Bullpens
The Angels bullpen owns a 4.50 ERA this season and a 1.38 WHIP, while allowing a .754 OPS.
The Dodgers pen owns a 4.07 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP while allowing a .684 OPS. So this unit ranks among the top half-dozen bullpens in Baseball.
Totals Report
- Totals are split 47-47 in Angels games this season.
- Overs are 51-46 in Dodgers games this season.
- Overs are 24-23 in games played at Dodger Stadium this season.
- Unders are 2-0 in Angels-Dodgers games this season.
- Unders are a combined 14-8 when Maeda and Pena start this season.
- Get more details: Angels at Dodgers MLB Match-up Stats
