Two AL West division foes will face each other in a four-game weekend series when the Oakland Athletics travel to Anaheim, California, to face the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Game 1 is scheduled to start at 9:38 PM ET on Thursday night and will air on the MLB Network, Bally Sports West, and NBC Sports California.
The Oakland Athletics are coming off their third consecutive series win in a row, a 2-1 series win at home against the Houston Astros. However, their two-game winning streak came to an end following a 1-8 loss in Game 3 of the series on Wednesday.
Following the loss on Wednesday, the Oakland Athletics are now 22 games below .500 at 41-63, which gives them the second-worst record in the American League and puts them in last place in the AL West. The lone run for Oakland came in the bottom of the first inning, when Lawrence Butler scored on a double off Miguel Andujar's bat.
JP Sears suffered his eighth loss of the season after pitching six innings, allowing seven runs, and recording three strikeouts. This ended his four-game streak of allowing three or fewer runs.
This will be the 4th series this season between Oakland and Los Angeles, with the Athletics having won the previous two series and having won five of the last six games in the series while having won by an average margin of five runs per game in those matchups.
The Oakland Athletics will look to start the series off with a win when they travel to face the Los Angeles Angels for Game 1.
The Los Angeles Angels are in fourth place in the AL West, only ahead of the Oakland Athletics, and have the third-worst record in the American League at 45-57. However, they are on a four-game winning streak and are coming off a 3-0 series sweep on the road against the Seattle Mariners, which ended with a 2-1 win in Game 3 of the series on Wednesday.
Following Wednesday's win, the Angels outscored the Mariners 10-3 in the series. Griffin Canning had one of his best starts of the season, pitching five innings, allowing one run, and recording six strikeouts. However, his start resulted in a no-decision. Both of the Angels' runs were scored in the top of the 8th inning, including the game-winning run when Kevin Pillar scored off a base hit from Brandon Drury.
Los Angeles won the first series of the season 3-0. However, they have lost five of the last six games in the series while having split the previous ten matchups with Oakland 5-5. The Athletics outscored the Angels 4.2 to 5.4 runs per game in those contests.
The Los Angeles Angels will look to extend their winning streak to five games when they host the Oakland Athletics for Game 1 of the series on Thursday night.
BetNow has the Los Angeles Angels listed as -116 moneyline favorites at home against the Oakland Athletics for Game 1 of the series on Thursday night. The teams have split the previous ten meetings 5-5, with Oakland outscoring Los Angeles by an average of 5.4 to 4.2 runs per game. Oakland has won two of the previous three games in the series while winning by an average margin of 4.33 runs per game.
Despite being multiple games under .500, both teams are two of the hottest teams in baseball. Oakland enters the series against Los Angeles having won three consecutive series following a 2-1 series win at home against Houston, while the Angels are riding a four-game winning streak.
However, the Angels have been dominant at home in the series as they have won eight of the last nine home games against the Athletics, which is why I am taking the moneyline for the Los Angeles Angels when they host the Oakland Athletics for Game 1 of the series on Thursday night.
