Will the A’s hold off the Angels?
LAS VEGAS, NV (The Spread) – The A’s and Angels are doing battle in the AL West – will Oakland hold off L.A. in order to win the division this year?
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There are now under 40 games left to be played to decide who will win the AL West as the A’s and the Angels are in a dead-heat. The Mariners are also only six games back as they have recently cranked their bats up to give King Felix, Iwakuma, and Chris Young ample run support.
While most eyes are on L.A. and Oakland, let’s not forget about the Mariners as I feel they are a value play in terms of winning the division. One reason for this is the Mariners’ 33-24 road record, which is the best in the AL. They do have a three-game road series in Oakland coming up and a four-game series at L.A. on 9/15. If the Mariners can win both of those series, then I expect them to be right in the hunt for the division.
Currently, the A’s are favored to win the division and I feel they are still in the driver’s seat and they are worth the price of admission if you want to place a wager on them to win the AL West. The A’s will play the Angels 10 more times this season and these 10 games will more than likely decide the divisional winner. I like Oakland’s starting rotation after getting Jon Lester and Jeff Samardzija.
The only guy in the Angels starting rotation that I can trust is Garrett Richards as CJ Wilson has been getting rocked, Jered Weaver’s velocity continues to go down and fatigue seems to be setting. The Angels did make some moves to strengthen their bullpen, but it’s more the starting rotation that I am worried about.
I will note that Oakland leads all of MLB in run differential at +162 runs and this is a team that needs to be feared. As of this writing, the A’s bats are in a slump, but this team has been able to break out of short slumps all season long and I think they will do so again.
If you had to pick where to put your money currently, I would advise making a solid wager on Oakland to win the division. If you are more of a value player that want to invest in a low-risk/ high reward proposition, then I would advise on making a play on the Mariners to win the division.
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