Angels vs. Indians Pick
Will the Cleveland Indians finish off a sweep of the Los Angeles Angels when the two teams meet up this afternoon at 12:10PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Indians are the favorite at home, as they are getting odds of -145 to win, while the Angels are getting a money line of +135 to win. The over/under total for the game is listed at 9 runs.
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The pitching matchup today has JC Ramirez (9-8, 4.38 ERA) on the mound for the Angels to face Trevor Bauer (8-8, 5.58) of the Indians. Ramirez has been hot-and-cold. Three of his last starts have seen him allowed a combined two earned runs. The other three has seen him give up 13 earned runs. On the year he has 92 strikeouts with 34 walks and a 1.32 WHIP. Bauer has allowed at least three runs in his last three starts. He has 111 strikeouts this season with 41 walks with a 1.49 WHIP.
The Indians took the series opener on Tuesday night with an 11-7 victory and followed that up last night with a 10-4 win at home. Cleveland is now 54-45 overall and 27-24 at home while Los Angeles is 49-53 overall and 22-30 on the road.
Wednesday’s game saw the Indians post seven runs in the eighth inning to carry them to the win. The two teams combined for 29 hits. The L.A. bullpen gave up the seven runs over just 1.1 innings of work as Ricky Nolasco allowed just three runs in 6.2 innings. Carlos Carrasco took a no-decision as he pitched 6.1 innings and allowed just two runs. Bradley Zimmer homered and had a double while driving in two to lead Cleveland. Carlos Santana had three hits while Yan Gomes and Erik Gonzalez each had two RBI. The Angels were led by Luis Valbuena, who had a home run and a double while driving in two runs.
Cleveland has managed to mash the ball in this series and I think it can continue today against Ramirez, who hasn’t been consistently pitching well. Bauer has been shaky as well, but he is facing the lesser of the two lineups and has his trusty bullpen behind him. The Indians know they can really create some distance in the AL Central by winning these games at home against sub-.500 teams.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: CLEVELAND INDIANS -145