In one of the last games on Friday’s jam-packed slate of action from Major League Baseball, the Angels come home after a long road trip to host the Athletics in a battle of teams towards the bottom of the AL West. While neither team has much chance of getting to the postseason, both have promising young players looking to establish themselves as part of the future, giving us some very interesting storylines to consider when making our pick and prediction for Friday’s series opener in Anaheim, which begins at 9:38 p.m. ET.
The Angels took two of three games from the Royals to finish their road trip and improve to 66-74 on the year. The Athletics are 2.5 games behind them in the AL West standings after dropping five of their last six games since an impressive sweep of the Tigers a few weeks ago.
The Angels are -156 home favorites this Friday with the run total at 9.0. Let’s preview this Friday night matchup with the help of some odds and lines on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Athletics vs. Angels prediction, preview
The Angels give the ball to Jose Soriano as they come home, while the A’s will give Mason Barnett his second start of the year. Barnett struggled in his first outing, allowing five runs on eight hits in four innings against the Rangers. He didn’t fare all that well at Triple-A either, compiling a 5.83 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, and a 5.53 FIP with the Las Vegas Aviators.
The Angels have also had to dig deep into their organizational depth for starting pitching lately, but Soriano has been one of their most steady starters throughout the season. The 26-year-old has made 28 starts, going 10-9 in a career-high 161 1/3 innings with a 3.68 ERA, 3.58 FIP and 21.2% strikeout rate.
Soriano has been boom-or-bust in his recent outings, giving up zero runs in three of his last four starts. However, he gave up five to the Athletics and seven to the Rays in two of his last five starts as well. The Athletics hit three homers off him and handed him a loss in Sacramento just a few weeks ago.
Soriano has actually been much better on the road (2.47 ERA, 3.39 FIP) than at home (5.11 ERA, 3.80 FIP) but his starts have been inconsistent regardless of location. For example, he started two other games against the A’s earlier this year, allowing four runs in 13 innings and picking up a win and a no-decision. Some night’s he’s “on” and others he seems very hittable.
Since Soriano can be hit or miss and Barnett has not impressed, I’m focused more on offensive options in this prediction and pick for Friday. I included Zach Neto in my top home run props for the day, and I think he’s in a good spot to succeed in this contest.
The other hitter who has my attention for the Halos is Jo Adell, who is up to 33 homers in his long-anticipated breakout season. In his last 100 at-bats, Adell is hitting .290 with 11 home runs, three doubles, 14 runs scored and 27 RBI. Adell went 0-for-3 on Thursday, snapping a three-game homer streak, but he will be on the strong side of his splits at home, where he’s hitting .254 with a .349 wOBA this year.
The Angels took all three of the games between these teams in Anaheim when these teams faced off in June, and they will look to continue their momentum from a strong finish to their road trip with a win on Friday night.
Athletics vs. Angels pick, best bet
Best Bet: Angels -1.5 runs (+129)
The Angels have a big starting pitching advantage and should be able to get to Barnett. I love the Athletics’ young hitters and am very bullish on them going forward, but they need better starting pitching before they can really take off. Soriano could be excellent and turn this into a route, but even if he isn’t, I think the Halos will win by multiple runs.
Strong Lean: Jo Adell 1+ RBI (+115)
Adell has 90 RBI this season, including 40 in his 66 home games. I also like him at 3+ HRR (Hits + Runs + RBI) at +125, but this is an easier prop for him to hit. I think the Angels will get plenty of runs against the Athletics, and I’d be surprised if Adell isn’t in the middle of the scoring in some way.
