Goodbye, All-Star Break. Hello, deadline season. There are fewer than two weeks for these teams to decide whether they will sell or buy. It’s going to be an important time for the Philadelphia Phillies and the Los Angeles Angels.
The Phillies are in a heated race for the NL East. It’s going to be them and the Mets down to the wire. Expected to be major players as trade deadline buyers, the next several games will help Philadelphia’s management decide where upgrades are needed.
The Angels are working on a different kind of decision. At 48-49, they’re a few games behind in the AL Wild Card race. A few good days could put them in the race, and a few bad days could turn them into a seller. Nothing like feeling your job is on the line to bring out the competitive spirit.
The Phillies are -137 moneyline favorites at home on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Angels are +112 road underdogs. The total is set at 9.5 runs. Let’s go ahead and dig into a prediction for this Phillies vs. Angels contest.
Angels vs. Phillies prediction, preview
It’s going to be a fascinating matchup on the mound. The Angels will have All-Star Yusei Kikuchi on the bump during the best year of his career. So much for people laughing at the three-year, $63 million deal he was handed this offseason. And he’s not the only pitcher in this contest changing a narrative.
Taijuan Walker was one of the worst starting pitchers in the big leagues last year. Full stop. A rough 2023, going into his 7.10 ERA in 2024, made his four-year, $72 million deal look like one of the worst in baseball. But with that kind of money on the books, they had no choice but to power through. Now he’s turning things around in a big way, cutting his ERA in half and working his way back into the starting rotation.
It projects to be a tight battle, just like Friday’s 6-5 Angels victory. And I think Los Angeles can pull it out again.
Angels vs. Phillies pick, best bet
Los Angeles Angels Moneyline (+112)
This is a battle of two of the worst bullpens in the majors. It places a significant amount of extra pressure on the starters to perform. And I have a lot more confidence in Kikuchi to pull this one out.
This is only the second turn back in the rotation for Taijuan Walker. The first one went well, but he needs a different kind of rhythm. And despite pitching well in his first turn, he covered only four innings with 63 total pitches. That was ten days ago. I’m not confident in Walker being stretched out enough to cover for Philadelphia’s bullpen. It’s enough of an edge to give me confidence in the Angels.
