Baltimore Orioles (56-56 SU, 56-56 RL, 57-53-2 O/U) vs Los Angeles Angels (55-58 SU, 53-60 RL, 46-59-8 O/U)
When: 3:35 PM EDT, Wednesday, August 9th, 2017
Where: Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California
Lines: Baltimore -132/ Los Angeles +122
Total: 9.5
The American League East meets the American League West this evening as the Baltimore Orioles battle it out with the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California in game three of their three game series. The Orioles took game one of this series by a 6-2 score. Pitching Probables: The Angels will trot out Kevin Gausman (8-7, 5.15 ERA) and the Angels will counter with Troy Scribner (1-0, 4.50 ERA).
The Orioles Are Making A Push For The Playoffs
The Baltimore Orioles had a very good start to their year, but then the struggled for a couple of months and were falling out of playoff contention. Well, they have turned things around of late as they have won eight of their last 10 games to pull to within 1.5 games out of the 2nd wildcard slot in the American League. The big reason for their struggles this year has been their pitching, but that pitching has really turned around of late as they have a strong 2.50 ERA in their last 10 games. The have added Jeremy Hellickson from the Phillies and he threw seven shutout innings in a 6-0 with over the Royals in his first start for them and he could be a key addition to the team for their stretch run. Baltimore took game one of this series thanks to a grand slam by Manny Machado, which was his 21st homer of the year, but they are still just 21-33 on the road. They will need to play better away from home if they are to stay in the race. Toeing the slab for the Orioles in this one will be Kevin Gausman and he has gone 8-7 with a 5.15 ERA in 24 starts on the year, including 2-0 with a 0.42 ERA in his last three starts and 4-4 with a 5.77 ERA in 11 starts on the road. Gausman has gone 7-9 with a 3.52 ERA in 19 games (18 starts) during the month of August and 7-10 with a 4.30 ERA in 36 games (29 starts) in the daytime, while against Halos in his career he has gone 1-1 with a 4.66 ERA in three starts, including 0-1 with a 5.11 ERA in two starts here at Angel Stadium.
Baltimore has been average on offense this year so far as they come in ranked 13th in the league in scoring, putting up 4.71 rpg, while also ranking 7th in hitting at .261 and 6th in homers with 161. On the mound, they have been poor so far as they come in ranked 27th in the league in ERA at 4.91, while also ranking 29th in WHIP at 1.47.
The Halos May Be In Trouble
The Los Angeles Angels had a four game winning streak going, but they have lost their last three in a row, after falling 6-2 at home against the Orioles in game one of this series. The Angels have been a bad offensive team this year, but now their pitching is starting to break down as well as they have a 4.53 ERA in their last 10 games and they have allowed 5.44 rpg in their last nine games, including 7.33 rpg during their three game slide. The offense has been better of late, but still, this offense has not been good all year and if the pitching goes, then they will be in trouble. The Angels are just three games out of the 2nd wildcard slot in the American League, so they are still very much alive for a playoff spot, but they won’t be if their pitching continues to struggle. Los Angeles has gone 31-26 at home and they have averaged 4.37 rpg and have allowed 4.28 rpg in those games. Taking the hill for the Angels will be Troy Scribner and he is off his first career start. In that game, he got a no-decision in an 8-6 Angels win over the A’s. he allowed five runs (two ERs) on two hits and four walks in 4.0 innings of work. He was 10-3 with a 4.16 ERA in 18 games (17 starts) at Salt Lake (AAA) this year.
The Angels have been a poor offensive team so far as they come in ranked 26th in the league in scoring, putting up just 4.26 rpg, while also ranking 26th in hitting at .245 and 24th in homers with 121. On the mound, they have been decent as they come in ranked 14th in the league in ERA at 4.24, while also ranking 11th in WHIP at 1.29.
Trends
Baltimore is:
- 9-3 in their last 12 vs. a team with a losing record
- 5-1 in their last six during game three of a series
Los Angeles is:
- 2-5 their last seven games in this series
The Making are making a push for a playoff spot and they have been playing well of late as they are 8-2 in their last 10 games, but the Angels are not out of it and they know that a good showing in this series could give them the confidence they need to push on. Kevin Gausman has been on fire of late as he has a 0.42 ERA in his last three starts, including an ERA of 0.00 in his last two road starts and he will be facing an Angel offense that has looked better of late, but is still a poor one overall. The Angels will trot out Troy Scribner and he didn’t have a great 1st career start and will now attempt to slow down a Baltimore offense that has averaged 5.90 rpg in their last 10 games. I just don’t see it happening here. The Orioles are the play in this game as they have the better starter and the better offense as well.
Pick: Baltimore -132
Very important game for both teams as they both look to stay in the hunt for a wild card berth in the American League. The Orioles have been hot of late as they have won eight of their last 10 games and a big reason for that has been their improved pitching, which has a 2.50 ERA over that stretch. Kevin Gausman has been on fire with a 0.42 ERA in his last three starts and he hasn’t allowed an ER in his last two road starts. The Halos have averaged 6.20 rpg in their last 10 games, but that has not been the norm for them and they have been taking on some crappy pitching of late. In game one of this series they were good for just two runs. The O’s have been hot offensively, but I can see them struggling in this one against a pitcher they have never seen. Look for the Under in this one, especially since the Under is 20-9 the last 29 games in this series.