An intriguing Friday night is in store for you later this evening, as two AL West division rivals—the Los Angeles Angels and Oakland Athletics—go head-to-head for the first meeting of a three-game set at the Oakland Coliseum. Who will draw first blood? Read on below for more information about this matchup.
The Los Angeles Angels should win this opener against the Oakland Athletics. The Angels, after all, are sending their ace hurler in Matt Shoemaker (3-7, 4.76 ERA) on the mound.
Shoemaker has gradually transformed himself into one of the best pitchers in the majors today. The 29-year-old righty started his 2016 campaign pretty slowly, but has finally turned things around lately. He’s given up just eight runs and has struck out a total of 48 batters in his previous five starts. Los Angeles, however, went just 2-3 in that stretch.
Hence, the Halos, who are priced at +4,000 to win the American League crown, better pile up some runs at the plate in order to secure their third-consecutive victory later. They can expect the pairing of Yunel Escobar and Mike Trout to lead the charge in doing so. Those two have been performing solidly this year.
Escobar leads Los Angeles in batting (.310) and hits, while Trout has actually played even better. The former AL MVP boasts team-highs of 13 homers, 44 runs batted in and a .415 OBP. He’s also gone 9-of-27 with three doubles, three RBIs and one homer in his last eight games.
The Angels have lost seven of their previous 10 road games.
Betting on the Oakland Athletics (27-39)
Clearly, June has not been a very good month for the Oakland Athletics. They enter tonight’s game having lost 10 of their last 13 games and as losers of three-straight outings. The most recent one happened in yesterday’s series finale versus the Rangers, who defeated them by a final score of 5-1.
Now, the A’s hope to finally get their act together when they hand the ball to Kendall Graveman (2-6, 5.28 ERA) later. He’s coming off an excellent start against the Reds last weekend. The 25-year-old right-hander logged in four innings of one-run ball and also added in five K’s despite getting the no-decision.
Another solid start from Graveman could be in the making, as he’s pitched quite well versus the Los Angeles Angels. The former Blue Jay is 0-1 along with a 2.12 ERA, a 1.24 WHIP and a .250 opponents’ batting average throughout three career starts in this matchup.
Over on offense, the A’s, who are averaging 4.06 runs per game this season, can look to Danny Valencia or Billy Burns to light up the plate for them.
Valencia’s been having a phenomenal month of June, owning a triple-slash line of .333/.395/.564. The same can be said during home games, as the hard-hitting third baseman is batting .330 at Oakland Coliseum this season.
Burns, on the other hand, is 4-of-13 in his last three games and is 3-for-9 lifetime against the Angels’ starter in Matt Shoemaker.
Oakland is 3-7 SU in Graveman’s last 10 starts. The A’s are also priced at +4,000 to win the American League championship.
Writer’s Prediction
Shoemaker pitches a gem, and the Angels (-137) cruise to a convincing 7-2 victory.
