Angels vs Rays Baseball Picks
The Angels finally nipped the Orioles in the series finale. It was the third one run ballgame of the series and for once the Angels had the answer.
Los Angeles Angels (64-43) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (53-55)
Friday August 1
Tropicana Field – Tampa, FL
7:10PM
Probable Pitchers:
LAA: Matt Shoemaker (R)
TB: Jeremy Hellickson (R)
Moneyline: Tampa Bay -109, Los Angeles +101
Total: 8
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Los Angeles
L.A. has been playing a lot of close contests of late and on a day where the A’s made a big time move a victory was near necessary for a team in hot pursuit.
The Angels made their play sooner in acquiring Huston Street for the bullpen, settling that area and their offense is in fine form.
The rotation could have used an infusion but it has served them well thus far thanks to the emergence of new aces.
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Angels starter Matt Shoemaker is proving to be a somewhat reliable option in the rotation. He has amassed an 8-3 record and had his best start yet in his recent win against Detroit – a good hitting team.
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The key has been control as he had only 3 walks in 4 July starts – all in start #1.
He has gone three straight without issuing a free pass and that is alway a good way to give your team a chance to win.
Tampa Bay
Tampa has been red hot but they can’t truly be considered to be in the race until they cross the .500 threshold.
They could achieve that this weekend if they can sweep the Angels over the weekend. The Rays have been pitching really well in their recent run but it would be nice if the offense could help out a little, especially given the Angels can put some runs up.
Only two players have double digits in homers and one of them is a reserve so the regulars have to start contributing more.
The Rays were waiting a long time for Hellickson to mend and he has certainly contributed to their strong play of late. However, in his two starts he has yet to pitch even 5 complete innings taxing the Rays bullpen though he has been effective surrendering just a single run over the two outings.
It is concerning how inefficient he has been especially with the Angels coming to town. They have been chewing up pitching most of the season and are finally whole.
The Rays have been playing good ball since the break but half of the time they have been playing teams out of the race like Boston and Minnesota.
The Angels are another matter and they should be focused while the Rays took a punch in the gut with the trade of David Price. I am not a fan of Hellickson either way and he is a happy fade.
Total Prediction: Over
Score prediction: Los Angeles 5 – Tampa Bay 4
