The Los Angeles Angels and the Baltimore Orioles battled each other to a close, extra innings game to start off their series last night. With two hotly contested divisional races in the balance, tonight should continue the trend of tight, hard-fought games.
For more baseball action, check out our MLB Free Picks for the best baseball games to bet on for the day. In the meantime, read on as we examine this hot-hitting matchup between the Angels and Orioles.
[sc:MLBArticles ]Los Angeles Angels vs. Baltimore Orioles, Major League Baseball, Betting Preview and Prediction
Where: Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore
When: Wednesday, July 30, 7:00 PM ET
Line: Los Angeles Angels (-125) at Baltimore Orioles (+115); total 8.5 – view all MLB lines
Betting on the Los Angeles Angels
The Los Angeles Angels got their game together at the plate in their series-opening loss to the Baltimore Orioles to open their three-game series. Josh Hamilton ended his 20-game homerless streak with a homer in the fifth inning and a total of three RBIs in the game to lead his team’s scoring.
[sc:MLB240banner ]Aside from Hamilton, Kyle Kendrick went two-for-five with two runs scored while Mike Trout hit once and scored with two runs. However, their contributions were not enough as the Angels failed to score more on the way to a 12-inning 7-6 loss.
Still, with Hamilton back to his homer-hitting ways, and Kendrick and Trout continuing to hit well, an Angels offense which has averaged three runs in its previous 10 games looks primed for another high-scoring game.
The Angels will also be sending one of their best pitchers to start the second game. Garrett Richards’ (11-3, 2.62 ERA) streak of wins in seven-straight decisions hit a roadblock in his last outing, as he gave up four runs in six innings against the Detroit Tigers to take the loss.
Richards has struggled against high-output teams Detroit and Oakland, and the Orioles batters have hit .350 against him. He will need to be extra sharp if he wants to avoid a second-straight loss.
The Los Angeles Angels have lost seven of their last 10 games against the Baltimore Orioles.
Betting on the Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles have Manny Machado to thank for their narrow win over Los Angeles. After seven scoreless innings for Baltimore, Machado blasted a homer in the bottom of the twelfth inning. Aside from Machado, Adam Jones also had a homer to bring his season total to 20. He is second in the team in number of home runs and has become the first Oriole to record four consecutive 20-homer seasons since 1997.
However, the two batters have only gone a combined 1-for-6 lifetime against Los Angeles’ Richards.
Baltimore will be sending Kevin Gausman (4-3, 3.67 ERA) to the mound to start in the second game against the Angels. The Baltimore starter is 3-2 in his last five home starts.
Gausman pitched great in his last outing against the Seattle Mariners surrendering only one earned run over 6.2 innings. However, the Mariners are only 23rd overall when it comes to hits, while the Angels are the third-best hitters (975) in the majors. Gausman has also shown that he can struggle against the best hitting teams. He gave up five runs in just four innings of work against the Oakland A’s in his start previous to last and had a similar outing against the Detroit Tigers in his first start of the year.
The Baltimore Orioles are 4-1 in their last five games.
Writer’s Prediction
The Los Angeles Angels’ batters will have their way with Baltimore’s Gausman. Take the Angels at -125 to take the second game of the series.
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