The Angels took the first game of an AL West measuring stick series against the Rangers behind the excellence of Shohei Ohtani at the plate.
Ohtani hit two homer runs in Monday's win, can the Angels keep it up as the team tries to force its way into AL West contention? The team will start Jaime Barria, who has been somewhat of a versatile outside for the Los Angeles pitching staff against call-up Cody Bradford.
Here are the odds for Tuesday's matchup:
Angels vs. Rangers odds, run line and total
Angels vs. Rangers prediction and pick
Barria has carved out a role with the Angles this season, starting three games and finishing six while appearing in 14 games in 2023. He has posted a 1.85 ERA through 39 innings while posting a career best 3.08 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Barria will have his hands full with a Rangers lineup that is elite at the plate behind AL MVP contender Marcus Semien (.288/.353/.474 with 51 RBI's), but the Angels have bolstered a deep pitching staff all year. Behind Barria, who will pitch around the order no more than twice, the Halos have the fourth best bullpen in terms of ERA.
Los Angeles has been an elite hitting unit as well and will have a noted advantage against AAA-level pitcher Cody Bradford. The Rangers' lefty will face an LAA lineup that is sixth in batting average against southpaws and the team doesn't have the bullpen behind Bradford to avoid trouble. Texas has the eight highest bullpen ERA this season.
Both offenses can rake, but the pitching on Tuesday will be the difference. I'll take the Angels as slight underdogs.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
