Mark Lammey
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There aren’t as many MLB games as usual today, but things at least get started nice and early with this 1:10 pm ET game between the Angels and Rays. After keeping things close in a 2-1 loss for the series opener, things got out of hand for the Angels on Tuesday with an 11-1 final. They fell once more to Rays lefty ace Shane McClanahan yesterday, and are out to salvage what they can with a lefty of their own. Outside of Shohei Ohtani, starter Patrick Sandoval has been a bright spot for them recently. Coupled with the return of 3-time MVP winner Mike Trout, there’s plenty for us to analyze in this series finale.
Along with this same game parlay, be sure to check out our MLB picks for all of today’s games.
Angels ML (+148)
Under 7 total runs (-120)
Parlay odds: +355
Let’s take a closer look at each leg of our same game parlay.
Los Angeles Angels ML (+148) over Tampa Bay Rays
There’s no denying that the Angels have been disappointing this season. They’ve even recently announced that they’re looking into selling the team. However, that does not mean there isn’t talent on this roster. Ohtani is the reigning AL MVP and truly is a generational talent. The return of Trout always provides confidence, and he hit a home run for his 1,500th career hit earlier in this series. If anything, those superstars should put on a show if they want to leave this franchise. Although Ohtani won’t be able to show off on the mound, the Angels should still be confident with Sandoval toeing the rubber.
He may not be a lefty quite like Tampa’s McClanahan, but he’s coming off of an incredible start. Sandoval just pitched a complete game shutout, striking out 9 batters in the process. That makes it 2 of his last 3 starts in which he didn’t allow a single run. The Rays’ Drew Rasmussen has been solid recently as well, but he’s not a starter reliable enough to warrant the Angels being this big of an underdog. Neither starter was on the mound the first time these teams met this season, but it was L.A. that came out on top in a big way. They won the first 2 games of that series by a combined score of 23-3. Ohtani and Trout combined for 5 home runs in those 2 games, so expect them to return the favor and support their lefty like the Rays did yesterday.
Be sure to check out our full game preview for the Los Angeles Angels vs Tampa Bay Rays
Under 7 total runs (-120)
There was consideration to use a prop for there not to be a run scored in the 1st inning of this game. However, that’s featured in our YRFI/NRFI best bets for today, so be sure to check those out. Let’s instead go with a correlated play in the overall game total. Just as things should get off to a slow start, we can expect that theme to run through the entire game. The series finale the last time these teams met saw just 6 total runs, and they opened this one up with a 2-1 game. The 11 runs from the Rays on Tuesday were quite the anomaly due to a 6-run 7th inning. That was quickly brought back down to the mean with yesterday’s 7-run game.
Even without McClanahan on the mound, this is still the lowest total on the board. There are several factors for that, including the Rays being mediocre at best against lefties. Sandoval’s recent complete game shutout was as a 1-0 win, and his 2 starts prior had 7 or fewer total runs. The only teams he’s allowed more than 2 runs to in the last 3 months were the Braves, Dodgers and Astros. The Rays’ lineup is nowhere near that caliber. Not to mention these are the 2 most strikeout-prone teams. The Angels have struck out the most of any team in the league, and the Rays have done so the 4th-most in the AL. That’s hurt their run-scoring, as they’re also both in the bottom 5 of the AL in that category. Rasmussen’s last 4 starts have finished with 7 or fewer runs as well, so expect a low-scoring finale.
Don’t miss our MLB mega parlay for tonight’s action (+860 odds!)
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