Game Time: 9:07 pm ET, Saturday, August 13th, 2022 

Venue: Angel Stadium, Anaheim, California

Where to Watch:  MLBN (JIP), MLB.tv

 

DraftKings: Twins -115, Angels -105; O/U 8

Caesars:  

PointsBet: 

 

Twins: 57-53, 2nd place AL Central

Angels: 49-63, 4th place AL West

An American League Matchup between two teams on a dramatic downslide.  The Minnesota Twins recently gave up first place in the AL Central to the Cleveland Guardians.  The Twins still have a winning record (barely), but they have been sliding into obscurity.  It is one thing to be the best team in the worst division in baseball…. It is entirely another to lose first place in the worst division in baseball.  The Los Angeles Angels have been flirting with the MLB dumpster for a decade.  They do one thing from being completely forgotten…  that is signing the occasional all-timer and ruining their careers.  Currently they have future Hall of Famers Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani… baseball history won’t give a damn about either of these guys unless they find a way out of the Angels grasp.  The Angels are going nowhere fast.  Their only chance is to get a big haul from the Dodgers for Ohtani… or maybe a big haul from the Yankees for Ohtani… Anything else and they will be stuck in the Upside Down World from Stranger Things.

The Minnesota twins have won 4 of their last 10 games.  They got SWEPT by the Los Angeles Dodgers 0-2, went 2-2 against the Toronto Blue Jays, 2-1 against the Detroit Tigers, and 0-1 against the San Diego Padres.  The Twins have hitters.  That is true, but they lack pitching.  The pitching numbers aren’t so far below average that they are fully terrible, but they keep serving up losses.  Hitters Byron Buxton, Luis Arraez, and Sandy Leon can not hold up enough of their end if they don’t get help from the pitching.  This is the sort of team that could go “all-in” by signing multiple guys for the mound and suddenly be good enough for real competition… but until then it is bottom of the barrel stuff.

The Los Angeles Angels have won 6 of their last 10 games in a real improvement over July.  August has been better if not good to the Angels. Still the core problems remain… They don’t have enough of enough. They went 3-0 against the Oakland A’s in a SWEEP of the worst team, 2-2 against the Seattle Mariners, and 1-2 against the Oakland A’s (again).  The Angels are circling the drain with the occasional home run or good pitching outing winning the occasional game. Terrible batting (despite Trout and Ohtani) and average pitching will not get it done.  The hard part is that the Angels can not make the big movies to improve because they have 70+ million invested into Trout and Ohtani… If both those guys end up on the move.. The Angels could start winning with creative signings… of course that would depend on the Angels ever getting a competent front office?.. Not likely.

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MIN: 57-53, -69 ML, 54-48-8 O/U, 26-28 in away games.

LAA: 49-63, -2467 ML, 46-56-10, 24-32 in away games.

The Twins are 11th in scoring with 4.51 runs per game, 9th in batting average with .250, and 8th in OBP with .320.  They have some batters and do not struggle at the plate.

The Angels are 25th in scoring with 3.88 runs per game, 27th in batting average with .228, and 27th in OBP with .297.  The hitting is slim.

The Twins pitchers are 20th in ERA with 4.10, 15th in WHIP with 1.25, and the fielders are 13th in errors with 57 on the season so far.  This team pads it’s stats with lots of games versus the other AL Central scrubs… however the direction is clear… They need to sign an ACE outright and find someone in the minors to take a starting spot with good results… Then they will be a force to reckon with.  Only then though.

The Angels pitchers are 13th in ERA with 3.86, 13th in WHIP with 1.25, and the fielders are 15th in errors with 59 on the season so far.  The pitching is almost good for gosh sake!

 

Our prediction for Saturday, August 13th is…  Angels 5 - Twins 3 

The Angels are at least trying to put a good pitcher on the mound.  The Twins slide will continue.  The bet is for the Angels on the Moneyline.

 

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The Twins are 21-27 when the total is 8 to 8.5 this season (-8.2 UNITS).

The Twins are 54-62 when the total is 8 to 8.5 the last three seasons (-21.6 UNITS)

THE Angels are 51-74 when the total is 8 to 8.5 (-26.2 UNITS)

The Angels are 78-89 in home games the last 3 seasons (-30.3 UNITS)

The bad is the bad and needs a pitching matchup to make it work. 

Twins: C K Garlick (ribs) OUT ** 3B M Sano (knee) OUT ** RF T Larnach (abs) OUT ** RF A Kiriloff (wrist) OUT ** C R Jeffers (thumb) OUT ** SS R Lewis (knee) OUT

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

Twins: RHP Dylan Bundy, 5.01 ERA, 74 strikeouts in 93 innings pitched. 1.30 WHIP.  The ERA is shockingly bad for an average pitcher on an average team.

Angels: LHP Reid Detmers, 4-3, 3.44 ERA, 82 strikeouts in 89 innings pitched.  1.04 WHIP.  This 23 year old has a better ERA and WHIP than his competition, but almost no MLB experience.  What could go wrong?

Twins: 1B Luis Arraez, SS Carlos Correa, 2B Jorge Polanco, RF Max Kepler, 3B Jose Miranda, CF Nick Gordon, LF Jake Cave, DH Tim Beckham, C Gary Sanchez

Angels: 2B David Fletcher, DH Shohei Ohtani, 3B Luis Rengifo, RF Taylor Ward, LF Jo Adell, C Max Stassi, CF Magneuris Sierra, 1B Phil Gosselin, lSS Andrew Velazquez

 

Twins: Rocco “where is the lasagna?” Baldelli

Angels: Phil “huh?” Nevin

Sunny. 92*, Humidity 41%... when you get an hour of driving away from actual los angeles you run into Anaheim and the desert.  The fact that they are allowed ot use LA on their caps is absurd.  It would be like a Connecticut team using NY on their caps… or  a San Antonio team using “Austin” as their merch… anyway it is deep in the desert and it will be hot.  WSind at 10 mph.