Tonight’s 10-game MLB slate wraps up with a trio of games in the late 9:40 p.m. EST window. One of those brings an AL West clash out in Anaheim as the Los Angeles Angels host the Texas Rangers as these two sides battle to get back into the mix amidst the middle of the division.
Here’s an Angels vs. Rangers prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook for Monday night’s contest.
Angels vs. Rangers prediction, preview
Los Angeles Angels
The Angels have seen some short periods of success this season but remain 43-46 overall as they keep fighting and failing to climb past the .500 mark. At 4-6 across their last 10 games, they were swept by the Blue Jays over the weekend and look to get back in the win column as they return home. However, they’re just 20-20 when playing at their own ballpark, so home-field advantage doesn’t seem like much of a factor tonight.
There’s one thing the Angels do really well on offense — hit home runs. The Halos are fifth in long balls this season with 129, but they don’t excel at much else at 28th in AVG, 20th in OPS and 19th in runs. They strike out more at the plate than any other lineup while drawing the fourth-fewest walks, so the process leaves much to be desired. Perhaps with a better pitching staff the Angels could string together a few more wins, but they fall 24th in ERA and 28th in WHIP on the year.
Texas Rangers
The visiting Rangers are a curious case this season. Texas holds a 44-46 record on the campaign despite deploying one of the MLB’s top pitching staffs. They’re 5-5 across their last 10 games but a paltry 18-27 when playing on the road, which doesn’t exactly bode well for tonight.
As mentioned above, the Rangers’ stable of arms remains one of the league’s elite. The staff ranks first in ERA at 3.23 with the next-closest team coming in significantly lower at 3.44, so they’re unquestionably great in that regard. They also sit tied for first in WHIP, and while they don’t strike out a ton of batters, it doesn’t really matter since they shut opponents down. The problem is that their own bats can’t muster up run support on a consistent basis at 25th in scoring and 27th in both AVG and OPS. If the bats ever come around, they’ll be truly scary, but over half a season’s sample suggests significant changes are needed to truly wake up the offense.
Angels vs. Rangers pick, best bet
DraftKings Sportsbook lists the Rangers as -136 favorites on the Moneyline tonight largely thanks to Jacob deGrom’s presence on the mound. The Angels are +111 Moneyline underdogs with a run total of 7.5.
Los Angeles sees their All-Star Yusei Kikuchi get the starting nod this evening. The right-hander has 102.1 innings to his name with a 2.81 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 106 strikeouts thus far, certainly a highlight of a struggling team’s season. Across his last seven games, those rate stats improve to a 2.32 ERA and 1.20 WHIP, too.
Meanwhile, Texas trots out their own All-Star in deGrom. The 37-year-old looks just like his vintage self with a 2.13 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 100 punchouts across 101.1 innings of work, some very impressive numbers especially given his age and injury history. His marks also look better recently with an absurd 1.87 ERA and 0.83 WHIP in his last seven starts.
While the -160 odds on this prop bet don’t look spectacular, I believe taking deGrom to record over 17.5 outs tonight earns the slot of this matchup’s top pick. The reasoning is simple. The Rangers’ ace has absolutely dominated this season and recorded at least 18 outs in eight of his last 10 contests. Nothing is guaranteed in this sport, but over 17.5 outs feels like as much of a lock as you can get tonight since he faces an Angels team which struggles at the plate.
Best bet: Jacob deGrom over 17.5 outs recorded (-160)
Click the odds on this bet to tail!
