Hector Santiago (9-9, 3.47 ERA) and Felix Doubront (3-3, 5.53 ERA) start in the first of a three-game series between the Los Angeles Angels (81-74) and the Oakland Athletics (65-91) at Angel Stadium. The Angels come into this series riding a five-game winning streak. Action begins at 10:05 p.m. ET on Monday, Sep. 28 and can be seen on CSCA, FSW and MLBN.
Santiago pitched 5.0 innings in his last outing, surrendering two runs, striking out four and walking five in a 4-3 win over the Astros. Mike Trout (.297, 99 Rs, 40 HRs, 88 RBIs, 10 SBs) went 1 for 4 yesterday with one run. Doubront went 4.2 innings, surrendering seven runs, striking out four and walking two in a 10-3 defeat to the Rangers in his most recent start. Ben Zobrist (.282, 74 Rs, 13 HRs, 54 RBIs, 2 SBs) went 1 for 4 yesterday with one run, one home run, and one RBI.
Los Angeles is a -178 favorite against Oakland and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at eight runs. The Angels have recorded an overall money line of +272 and have shown high-level performance as a favorite this season with a record of 55-31. Los Angeles is unbeaten as the favorite and has an 8-2 SU record in its last ten outings.
In the other locker room, Oakland is coming in with an overall money line of -3,153 and a disappointing record of 31-52 as the underdog. They played poorly as the underdog over their last 10 games with a 2-5 record, and a 3-7 record SU. Oakland is excellent at drawing walks with 3.0 per road game, ranking fourth in the AL. The Athletics allow 4.5 runs per game, but have damaged those numbers in the past 10 games, allowing 6.9 runs per game during that span.
The Angels lead the season series, 9-7. The Angels have a 23-19 record against left-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Doubront takes the mound. Santiago (LHP) will be on the hill against the Athletics, who have inferior records against left-handed starting pitchers on the road and overall of 3-16 and 14-32, respectively.
Predictions: SU Winner – LAA, O/U – Over
Notes
In their last game, the Athletics lost by a margin of one run. The Angels are 32-16 in one-run games. The Athletics have an 18-33 record in close games.
The Angels are coming into this game after allowing zero walks during their last outing. The Athletics have a 1-8 record when opponents give up that many walks.
It looks like the Angels have a slight leg up on the Athletics, as the Angels have won their last five games while the Athletics have lost their last two.
When they outhit their opponents, the Athletics are 48-21. The Angels have a 58-15 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 25th, Los Angeles is near the bottom of the league in runs, scoring 623 this season. Oakland ranks in the top half at 15th with 668.
Ranking 22nd, Los Angeles is near the bottom of the league in walks, notching 410 this season. Oakland ranks in the bottom half at 16th with 454.
The Angels are 63-37 in games where they hit one or more home runs. The Athletics are 44-46 when they hit at least one homer.
