Game Time: 1:10 pm ET, Thursday, August 25th 2022 

Venue: Tropicana Field, Tampa, Florida

Where to Watch:  MLB.tv 

 

Opening MLB Odds at USA Sportsbooks

DraftKings: Angels +140, Rays -164; O/U 6.5

Caesars:  

PointsBet: 

 

Angels: 52-71, 4th place AL East

Rays: 67-55, 2nd place AL East

An American League Championship between a good team and a tire fire.  The Los Angeles Angels are that tire fire.  They started the season OK… They have two mega superstars in their roster… and like always they swooned… swooned badly.  The team fired a manager and installed an interim manager and got even worse. It has gotten so bad the team's ownership has put the Angels up for sale.  That is good news for Angel fans… They really deserve an ownership group that will A) spend money, B) build a worthwhile minor league development program, C) and that actually knows how to run a baseball team.  The Angels have and have had pitcher Shohei Ohtani and home run hitter Mike Trout… on big salaries with big production… and they have never figured out how to build around these two A-pluses to at least average a passing grade.  The answer may be to trade them both and use the money to improve everywhere on mid-level deals… and launch the resulting haul of prospects into the pros to play for a good team…. Then and only then do you lay out the big bucks for a great player.  The Tampa Bay Rays are often forgotten about in their own division… since they share the Al East with the Yankees, Red Sox, and Blue Jays… but Tampa is sitting in 2nd place this season… They also finished the last 2 seasons in first place… and the season before that in 2nd place… What is going on?... Are the Rays an AL East juggernaut?... How come they are always overlooked?  This matchup is a great Betting opportunity if you want to be right… but if you want to overcome the thin moneyline which will heavily favor the Rays?... We have to look at the numbers and decide if the underdog has a chance… or if the favorite should be bet ATS.

The Los Angeles Angels have won only 3 of their last 10 games.  They are currency on a 4-game losing streak.  This team is so bad they keep sticking future Hall of Famer Shohei Ohtani with losses while playing crap teams.  It is an offense to everyone who wants to see competitive baseball.  It also guarantees that Shohei’s agent will push every button at his disposal trying to find the ejection seat.  They have gone 0-2 against the Tampa Bay Rays so far (game 3 tonight… while Game 4 is tomorrow and Game 4 is what this prediction covers.), They went 1-2 against the Detroit Tigers, 0-3 against the Seattle Mariners as they got swept, and 2-0 against the Minnesota Twins.  This team is bad. Bad pitching, average pitching… Their best pitcher (in wins) is also their home run leader?

The Tampa Bay Rays have won 8 of their last 10 games.  They are putting the fire to the feet of the New York Yankees.  They are threatening to swarm the finish with a grip of wins!  The Rays hitting is soft… below average soft.. But the pitching is top-3 in all of baseball.  This is exactly the team that should pony up prospects and cash for Shohei Ohtani or Mike Trout… They just need some hitting to start crushing for real.  They went 2-0 against the Los Angeles Angels so far, 3-1 against the Kansas City Royals, 2-1 against the struggling New York Yankees, and 1-0 against the Baltimore Orioles.

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LAA: 52-71, -3086 ML, 50-62-11 O/U, 26-35 on the road.

TB: 67-55, -164 ML, 55-58-9 O/U, 40-23 at home.

The Angels are 25th in scoring with 3.75 runs per game, 28th in batting average with .226, 27th in OBP with .294.

The Rays are 21st in scoring with 4.16 runs per game, 20th in batting average with .240, and 21st in OBP with .308.

The Angels pitchers are 15th in ERA with 3.89, 15th in WHIP with 1.26 (thanks Shoehei), and their fielders are 13th in errors with 62 on the season so far.

The Rays pitchers are 3rd in ERA with 3.31, 4th in WHIP with 1.13, and the fielders are 14th in errors with 62 on the season so far.

 

Our prediction for Thursday, August 25th is…  Rays 6 - Angels 2

 

Easy win for the Rays… but don’t bet the Moneyline.  Go with the Angels ATS.  Get the real return on the outcome you already expect.

 

 

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Angels: 3B M Duffy (back) Out ** CF M Moniak (finger) Out ** 3B A Rendon (wrist) Out

Rays: 2B B Lowe (undisclosed) Quest ** SS W Franco (wrist) Out ** CF R Quinn (knee) Out ** CF K Kiermaier (hip) Out ** C M Zunino (shoulder) Out ** 

Angels: LHP Patrick Sandoval, 4-8, 3.14 ERA, 115 strikeouts in 109 innings pitched.  1.40 WHIP.  The whole world is tired of waiting for this Angel to throw a good game.  The 245 year old has limited experience but it is all losing experience.  Shave your beard Pat… start anew… get a win.

Rays: RHP Drew Rasmussen, 8-4, 2.82 ERA, 90 strikeouts in 105 innings pitched. 1.05 WHIP.  This 27 year old is better than his opponent.  His numbers say it… his arm and his tools say it.  He also has limited experience.

Angels: SS David Fletcher, CF Mike Trout, DH Shohei Ohtani, 2B Luis Refugio, RF Taylor Ward, 1B Jared Walsh, C Max Stussi, 3B Jose Rojas, LF Magneuris Sierra

Rays: DH Yandy Diaz, RF Manuel Margot, LF Randy Aronarena, 1B Harold Ramirez, 3B Isaac Paredes, SS Taylor Walls, 2B Yu Chang, RP Christain Bethancourt, CF Jose Siri

 

Angels: Phil “when does interim end?... oh never” Nevin

Rays: Kevin “remember me?” Cash

Scattered Thunderstorms.  92*, Humidity 71%, Precipitation 60%.  Wind 6 mph.  The game will be under serious jeopardy of booth delays and cancellation.  The saving grace is the warm Tampa climate that has a habit of letting storms blow through then drying the ground quickly. Any break in the weather and they will try to play since the forecast is the same all week.