Article courtesy OddsShark (@OddsShark)
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (52-49) have been playing much better baseball lately, pulling within five games of an American League Wild Card berth by winning seven of their last 10 games heading into a key Interleague series with the Los Angeles Dodgers (67-35).
Five of those wins for the Angeles came against the lowly Seattle Mariners though, so the National League West-leading Dodgers will present a much tougher challenge for them as big -205 home favorites (bet $205 to win $100) at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com for the opener of a two-game Freeway Series that starts Tuesday at Dodger Stadium.
Angels at Dodgers | OddsShark Matchup Report
The Angels are listed as +190 road underdogs (bet $100 to win $190) on the MLB odds, and they endured an emotional Monday while honoring their former teammate Tyler Skaggs during a memorial service in Santa Monica after he passed away suddenly on July 1.
They are giving the ball to 29-year-old Dominican Felix Pena (7-3, 4.92 ERA) for the sixth time as a starter this season following one of his worst outings of the year.
Pena surrendered eight runs and nine hits in 4.2 innings to the Houston Astros last Wednesday to halt a two-game personal winning streak. But in his previous game, he helped no-hit the Mariners by going seven strong innings in relief of Taylor Cole en route to a 13-0 rout in the team’s first home game after Skaggs’ death.
A much more familiar name will toe the rubber for the Dodgers, as Kenta Maeda (7-6, 3.71 ERA) returns to action following two short outings, including one out of the bullpen.
Maeda pitched two no-hit innings on the road versus the Philadelphia Phillies on July 17 before being pulled after a long rain delay. He made a relief appearance two days later, pitching one hitless inning against the Miami Marlins before resuming his place in the rotation. He has gone 5-2 at home in nine games there this season with a 2.22 ERA.
Maeda suffered a setback to the Angels on June 11, allowing all five runs on three hits – including two homers – with three walks and four strikeouts in 4.1 innings of a 5-3 loss. The Dodgers have actually dropped three of the past four meetings with the UNDER cashing on the betting totals in the last three, according to the OddsShark MLB Database.
However, Wednesday’s pitching matchup is not any more favorable for the Angels, with Jaime Barria (3-3, 7.36 ERA) opposing Ross Stripling (4-3, 3.64 ERA) of the Dodgers. Barria was blown up for all 10 runs in a 10-0 loss Friday at Seattle to see his ERA rise from 5.22.
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