Game Time: 10:10 pm ET, Wednesday, June 15th, 2022 

Venue: Dodgers Stadium, Los Angeles, California

Where to Watch: MLBN 

DraftKings: Angels +155, Dodgers -179; O/U 8.5

Caesars:  

PointsBet: 

 

Angels: 29-33, 3rd place AL West

Dodgers: 37-23, 1st place NL West

This article and prediction is for Game 2 of the crosstown rivals.  Game 1 will play Tuesday night.  While this game will be played Wednesday Night. 

An inter-conference matchup between the best in the National League West and the 3rd place team in the American League West.  These teams are also city rivals.  They are a lifestyle rivalry as well.  If you live in Los Angeles the team to root for is the Dodgers… If you live in the Suburbs 50 miles away from Los Angeles the team to root for is the Angels. I have never seen these lines crossed by anyone living in the city… These lines are sometimes crossed by fans in the burbs. 

 

Both teams are undergoing the “start of summer” problems.  The Angels are so damn bad that they had to drop kick their manager out of the clubhouse.  They will be operating under an interim manager and probably employing a desperately outdated think tank to help them figure out how to screw up the trade deadline this season.  The Dodgers are clinging to 1st place by their fingertips at most.  They took a weekend beating form the San Francisco Giants that was pure vengeance for the Dodgers sweeping the Giants a few weeks back. Both these teams desperately need all the wins they can get their hands on for nothing else but validation.  Only one will get this one… Let’s look at the numbers.  

 

The Angels have won only 2 of their last 10 games. Going 6 Over and 4 Under.  They went 1-2 against the New York Mets, 1-3 against the Boston Red Sox, and 0-3 against the Philadelphia Phillies.  The oddity of the Angels is that they are ranked in the middle of batting stats and pitching stats.  The middle doesn’t mean they have a dozen average guys… It means they have a few great players on both sides of the plate… and a bunch of underwhelming guys on both sides of the plate.  This team has Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani… and have found a roster that can grind these guys down to next to useless.  The ownership group of the Los Angeles Angels should be forced to sell the team… but that’ll never happen.  So as baseball fans we have to get used to there being a team that will occasionally get their hands on great players… and then they will bury those players in the sands of history.  

 

The Dodgers have won only 4 of their last 10 games.  They are on a 3-game losing streak.  This is more than a speed bump and will need to be addressed by a change in the line-up or rotation.  The first big thing is that Mookie Betts and Trea Turner are batting out of order.  Mookie is the Dodgers home run leader and bats first?... Trea is the Dodgers leader in batting average, specifically singles and doubles…and bats 3rd?.... These guys need to switch to maximize the RBI chances.  For the last 2 seasons CF Cody Bellinger has been a shell of himself.  The former MVP is wallowing with a .207 BA.  His problem is two years ago he did a weird elbow high five and dislocated his shoulder.  He simply has never been himself since.  It’s time for Bellinger to lose his spot to Gavin Lux full time.  If a trade can’t be found then he’ll have to spend time with a sports psychologist until he is ready to hit the ball again.  The man makes quite a lot of money, but that isn't a good enough reason to keep playing him.  

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The Angels are 15th in scoring with 4.39 runs per game, 13th in batting average with .234, and 167th in OBP with .314.

The Dodgers are 1st in scoring with 5.15 runs per game, 11th in batting average with .249, ans 2nd in OBP with .330.

The Angels’ pitching ranks 17th in the league in ERA with 3.92, 11th in WHIP with 1.23, and 20th in fielding errors with 38 on the season so far.

The Dodgers’ pitching ranks 3rd in the league in ERA with 3.06, 2nd in WHIP with 1.10, and 5th in errors with a low low 27 on the season so far.  The Dodgers have fallen from 2nd in ERA to 3rd and 1st in WHIP to 2nd over the last week.  They need a team like the Angels to bolster those numbers again.

 

Our prediction for Wednesday June 15th is… Dodgers 6 - Angels 1

 

Game 2 of this series will go to the Dodgers.  Just bet it and keep betting.  When the Dodgers emerge from their struggles the winning streak will pay and pay.  They are a contending team based on the roster and the numbers.  

 

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The Angels are 4-15 as an underdog of +100 or higher.’

The Dodgers are 8-1 after getting shut out the last 3 seasons.

Dodgers pitcher Tony Gonsolin is 14-2 as a home favorite of -110 or higher the last 3 seasons.

Angels: LF T. Ward (hamstring) Out ** SS D. Fletcher (groin) Out ** 

Dodgers: LF Chris Taylor (face) Quest ** CF K. Pillar (shoulder) Out ** 3B E. Rios (hamstring) Out ** 

Angels: LHP Reid Detmers, 2-2, 3.83 ERA, 32 strikeouts in 49 innings pitched.  1.01 WHIP. The 22 year old has a big arm that landed him in Round 1 of the 2020 MLB Draft at the 10th pick.  He has a lot of promise and upside… but only 70 Big League innings under his belt.  

Dodgers: LHP Tyler Anderson, 7-0, 3.07 ERA, 55 strikeouts in 58 innings pitched.  1.02 WHIP.  Mr Duck is having a great season so far.  

 

Angels:  LF Brandon Marsh, DH Mike Trout, 3B Anthony Rendon, 1B Jared Walsh, 2B Matt Duffy, RF Juan Lagares, C Kurt Suzuki, CF Tyler Wade, SS Andrew Velazquez

Dodgers: RF Mookie Betts, 1B Freddie Freeman, SS Trea Turner, DH Will Smith, 3B Justin Turner, LF Chris Taylor, CF Cody Bellinger, 2B Hanser Alberto, C Austin Barnes

 

Angels: Interim manager.  I will learn his name when he actually gets the job. 

Dodgers: Dave Roberts

Partly Cloudy. 80*.  Humidity 59%.  Precipitation is zero percent.  This baseball weather is full of summer fun.