Picks, predictions for Angels vs. Dodgers on Friday, July 7

The two L.A. teams are heading in very different directions as the slumping Angels head up I-5 to kick off a Freeway Series showdown with the surging Dodgers. First pitch of Friday’s opener is set for 10:10 p.m. from Dodger Stadium. Griffin Canning (6-3, 4.29 ERA) will hope to snap the Halos’ three-game losing skid, while Tony Gonsolin (4-3, 3.69) gets the ball for the Dodgers.

The Dodgers enter as -165 home favorites on the moneyline at DraftKings Sportsbook, with the Angels the +140 underdogs. The run total is set at 9.

Angels-Dodgers picks: Friday, July 7

Injury report

Angels

Day to day: 3B Anthony Rendon (leg)
Out: OF Mike Trout (wrist), RP Matt Moore (oblique), RP Ben Joyce (elbow), SS Zach Neto (oblique), INF Brandon Drury (shoulder), INF Gio Urshela (hip), C Logan O’Hoppe (shoulder), SP/RP Jose Suarez (shoulder), C Max Stassi (hip)

Dodgers

Out: RP Daniel Hudson (knee), SP Noah Syndergaard (finger), SP Clayton Kershaw (shoulder), UTIL Chris Taylor (knee), RP Shelby Miller (neck)

Starting pitchers

Griffin Canning vs. Tony Gonsolin

Canning had been on a nice roll until his last outing, when he allowed five runs on just three hits in six innings — in large part thanks to four walks. The righty did strike out nine, though, and he’s shown the ability to be effective this year; prior to that hiccup, he’d pitched to a 2.25 ERA with 37 strikeouts in 36 innings over his previous five starts. He makes heavy use of his slider and changeup, and if he’s got the feel for his full compliment of secondaries, he can be tough to hit.

Gonsolin was a rock in the Dodgers rotation early on, but he’s gotten hit hard of late, allowing a whopping 15 runs across just 14.1 innings over his last three starts. The most recent of those three was the worst, in which he gave up four runs on six hits and three walks in just 3.2 innings of work against the lowly Kansas City Royals. The righty is getting far fewer swings and misses then he did during his breakout 2022 season, while his K rate is way down and his walk rate is way up.

Over/Under pick

As shaky as Gonsolin has been of late, I still don’t trust this depleted Angels lineup — they’ve averaged three runs per game over their last five, and now they have to adjust to life without Trout (and with Shohei Ohtani nursing a blister on his pitching hand). If Canning can navigate five or six innings without letting up a crooked number, I think the under cashes here as the Angels’ struggles continue.

Pick: Under 9

Moneyline pick

I’d like to take the plus odds and fade Gonsolin, who’s really struggled of late, but injuries have just laid waste to this Angels roster. The Dodgers are playing with confidence right now as their lineup rounds back into form, and I think they start this two-game series off with a win on Friday night.

Pick: Dodgers