In Monday’s late slate of MLB action, the Los Angeles Angels (54-58) host the Tampa Bay Rays (55-58) in a clash between teams aiming to salvage their seasons before they tumble further down their respective division standings. With plenty on the line, there’s some drama surrounding this West Coast affair.
Here’s an Angels vs. Rays prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook for Monday night’s game.
Angels vs. Rays prediction, preview
Neither one of these teams bring great form into tonight’s contest as the Angels are 7-9 since the All-Star Game and the Rays just 5-11. While legitimate playoff hopes remain slim for each side, anything can happen — however, they’re both in bad spots at fourth place in their respective divisions. Things look bleak, to say the least.
The Angels are 17th in scoring since the ASG with 68 runs to the Rays’ 60, which puts the latter team 23rd in the stat. While neither are hitting particularly well for average at .233 and .224 over the same sample, the Angels are reaching base more often and have a .709 OPS compared to the Rays’ dismal .653 mark. Both are striking out at a high rate with the second and third-most Ks as well, so the plate discipline leaves plenty to be desired.
As for the pitching matchups, Los Angeles’ All-Star lefty Yusei Kikichu (3.30 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 132 SO) duels Tampa Bay right-hander Adrian Houser (2.10 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 47 SO). It’s worth noting that Kikuchi’s sample size this year is roughly double that of Houser’s, but the latter has still seen 68.2 innings of work.
Angels vs. Rays pick, best bet
The Angels are favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook at -126 on the Moneyline at home. The Rays are listed at +104 to win outright with the run total set at 8.5.
This contest feels like a relative toss-up where game lines are concerned, so I’m avoiding those for the most part on today’s betting card. Instead, I’m looking at pitcher props as an area to target.
Kikuchi is one of the better pitchers in this Los Angeles rotation, so I can see the appeal for some of his lines tonight. I did consider over 5.5 strikeouts since the Rays have gone down on strikes plenty lately, but there’s another line I’d rather grab with better odds instead. Bettors can snag under 17.5 outs recorded for the southpaw at +125 odds, and it feels like that line should be a little lower since Kikuchi hasn’t gone over that mark in any of his last six starts. The last time he eclipsed 17.5 outs was way back on June 25 and he’s recorded 16 or fewer outs in each of his last three outings.
The Rays aren’t playing good baseball right now, but I’m taking the trend tonight for Kikuchi at this value.
Best bet: Yusei Kikuchi under 17.5 outs recorded (+125)
Click the odds on this bet to tail!
