Game Time: 9:40 pm ET, Tuesday, August 9th, 2022

Venue: Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, California

Where to Watch:  MLB.tv

DraftKings: Moneyline: Angels -175, Athletics +150; O/U 6.5

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  

PointsBet:  Moneyline: 

 

Angels: 45-61, 4th place AL West

Athletics: 41-67, 5th place AL West

An embarrassing American League West matchup.  The Los Angeles Angels should be permanently embarrassed that after a good start to the season they have fallen to just 5 games above the Oakland Athletics in the standings.  The Oakland Athletics should be embarrassed that they are the Oakland Athletics… the worst team in an easy division.  The A’s have stepped up lately so they are at least above the Washington Nationals by a few wins… but they draw the least fans in the league and have for a decade.  The Brad Pitt movie about Billy Bean deserves no sequel…. The feel good story of the plucky little team that could compete is now a feel bad story of a little team that simply does not belong in the majors.  That movie wouldn’t star Brad Pitt…. Maybe not even Mark Paul Gosslear.  This is not the sort of game you watch… It is just a game you can lay a reasonably reliable bet on.  

The Los Angeles Angels have won 4 of their last 10 games.  They amazingly lost a game to the Oakland A’s while the Angels had 7 solo home runs!!... Two from Shohei Ohtan!!... The final score was A’s 8 - Angels 7.  We can now all laugh at the Angels.  Seriously… losing a 7 home run game is literally as bad as it gets.  It puts them in the very dark pages of the record books!  It also highlights to Shoehei Ohtani that he should reach free agency or force a trade while never signing any contract that would hold him to the Angels ever, ever, ever.  They went 2-1 against the Seattle Mariners, 1-2 against the Oakland A’s, 1-3 against the lowly Texas Rangers. The Angels have several horrible fatal flaws… but the first and chief among them would be the penchant to sign big time players to huge contracts and simply forget to build a team around them.  If the Angels tomorrow traded away Ohtani, Trout, Jose Rojas, Taylor Ward, and Rendon in separate deals with say… The Dodgers, Mets, Padres, and Whomever… the resulting avalanche of minor leaguers and lesser starters would IMPROVE the Angels… It may even buy the Angels a future of getting near the playoffs.  And if they spent money on top of that?... The sky would be the limit!!  But until then… They are a dumpster fire.  If they want me to step in and do it for them… I would throw darts at a dartboard and do better than the Angels have done on their own in decades.  Seriously… give me a call.  Or call anyone else in the phonebook and get ready for better results.  

The Oakland Athletics have won 6 of their last 10 games.  A real uptick in a goose egg of a season.  They went 0-1 against the San Francisco Giants, 2-1 against THESE Los Angeles Angels, 1-2 against the Chicago White Sox, and 3-0 against the Houston Astros during that stretch.  These bad news bears by the Bay have been playing better as of late.  The wins have dribbled in. It won’t get them out of last place in the AL West… but it will help them look in the mirror from time to time.  The problem the A’s have faced all year is a terrible offense that supplies very little run support to a bad pitching staff.  That is a real formula for losing.  Still this team is now grasping at straws by calling up lots of young guys from the minors to take a turn or two on the mound… Sometimes that can work.  Especially if the young guys are replacing career nobodies and the occasional has-been.  It is hard to bet on the A’s… but when playing the Angels you have to really look close at the pitching matchup.  

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The Angels are 25th in scoring with 3.91 runs per game, 26th in batting average with .229, and 26th in OBP with .300.

The Athletics are 29th in scoring with 3.43 runs per game, 30th in batting average with .216, and 30th in OBP with an awful .276.

Angels pitchers are 18th in ERA with 4.00, 15th in WHIP with 1.25, and 18th in errors with 53 on the season.  

The A’s pitchers are 23rd in ERA with 4.27, 21st in WHIP with 1.30, and 23rd in errors with 65 on the season so far.

Our prediction for Tuesday, August 9th is… Angels 4 - A’s 2

I would not bet on the Angels under any circumstances… unless of course they were playing the A’s and Shohei Ohtani was the starting pitcher…. Oh that is the case?... Then the bet has to be for the Angels on the moneyline.

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The Angels are 3-11 when playing after a day off this season.

The Angels are 82-77 as a favorite of -110 or higher the last 3 seasons (-29.7 units)

The Athletics are 4-15 as a home underdog of +125 to +175 this season (-9.5 units)

The Athletics are 0-7 when the home total is 6 to 6.5 (-7.7 units)

Angels: CF Mike Trout (ribs) Out ** SS D. Fletcher (groin) Out ** 3B M. Duffy (back) Out ** 3B A. Rendon (wrist) Out 

Athletics: No one of any importance.

Angels: RHP Shohei Ohtani, 9-7, 2.83 ERA.  152 strikeouts in 105 innings pitched. 1.04 WHIP.  Shohei is a fantastic pitcher.  His strikeouts are abundant and he has a solid ERA and WHIP.  He plays for a team that supplies him with very little run support.  In fact… he is his own best run support… if that makes any sense?

Athletics: RHP James Kaprielian, 3-5, 4.32 ERA, 57 strikeouts in 85 innings pitched.  1.29 WHIP.  The 28 year old has limited experience as a starter in the majors.  His debut was in August of 2020.  He will need to find a “next gear” if he doesn’t want his 4.23 ERA, over his 208.1 career innings, to become a permanent stain instead of a rough start.  He plays for the A’s and should expect very little run support or help of any kind from his offense.

Angels: DH Shoehei Ohtani,, LF Taylor Ward, 2B Luis Refugio, 1B Jared Walsh, RF Jonathan Villar, Cf Brandon Marsh, C Max Stassi, SS Andrew Valazquez, PH Michael Stefanic

Athletics: 3B Jonah Bride, LF Chad Pinter, C Sean Murphy, CF Ramon Laureano, 1B Jed Laurie, SS Elvis Andrus, RF Stephen Piscotty, DH Dermis Garcia, 2B Nick Allen

Angels: Phil “what’s going on fellas?’ Nevin

Athletics: Mark “Is this the show?” Kotsay

Partly Cloudy, 73* Humidity 67%, Wind at 16 mph.  An oddly windy day in Oakland… but there is good news… Oppressive humidity!