The Angeles Angels (55-58) downed the Tampa Bay Rays (55-59) in a 5-1 affair on Monday night. As these teams duke it out once more on the West Coast this Tuesday evening, the Angels attempt to creep closer to the .500 mark again against an opponent caught in quite the slump.
Here’s an Angels vs. Rays prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook for Tuesday night’s game.
Angels vs. Rays prediction, preview
Last night, the Angels improved to 8-9 since the All-Star Game as the Rays fell again to 5-12. The Angels don’t have a ton working for them this season and they’ll have to work plenty hard to rise higher than fourth in the AL West, but they’re surely grateful for where they’re at compared to tonight’s opponent. The situation in Tampa Bay just gets bleaker by the day, especially given where they once stood near the top of the AL East standings earlier this season. After sitting pat for the most part at the Trade Deadline, there’s a good chance the front office may want a do-over.
The Angels are still 17th in scoring since the ASG with 73 runs to the Rays’ 61, which dropped Tampa Bay to 25th. Los Angeles has seen a higher OPS over that sample with a .720 mark, good for 15th in the MLB, but their OBP continues to creep up to .323, which ranks 12th. The Rays are ranked 27th or lower in each stat, so it’s not shocking to see how last night’s outcome occurred. L.A tallied 11 hits behind three-hit performances from Taylor Ward and Bryce Teodosio, while Tampa recorded just five hits on the night.
Tonight’s duel on the bump actually looks like a fun one as the Angels’ Jose Soriano (3.65 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 115 SO) takes on Ryan Pepiot (3.80 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 128 SO) of the Rays. These right-handers’ box-score stats are quite similar, so this matchup on the mound looks evenly-matched.
Angels vs. Rays pick, best bet
Just like last night’s listing on DraftKings Sportsbook, the Angels are favorites with -126 on the Moneyline at home. The Rays are listed at +104 to win outright with the run total set at eight, slightly lower than yesterday’s contest.
In similar fashion to yesterday’s pick, I’m targeting a pitcher prop on Tuesday night. Both of these teams are striking out a ton since the ASG, with the Angels sitting dead-last with 162 followed closely by the Rays’ 160. That’s something we can take advantage of on tonight’s betting cards, particularly with Los Angeles’ starter.
Soriano’s K/9 sits at just 7.78 with a K% of 20.3%, but there’s reason to believe he can go over his strikeout line over 4.5 this evening. The right-hander grades out in the 90th percentile with a fastball velocity of 97.2 mph and he’s got a decent 65th-percentile whiff percentage. Between the velocity he brings and the fact he recorded at least five strikeouts in each of his last three starts and seven of his last 10, Soriano should go over this relatively-low line tonight. The matchup sets him up nicely, so this feels like a better option than risking it on a game line between two teams below .500.
Best bet: Jose Soriano over 4.5 strikeouts recorded (-135)
Click the odds on this bet to tail!
