Angels vs Athletics Picks and Odds – Aug 22
By Robert Duff in MLB Baseball
Updated: March 9, 2021 at 2:27 pm ESTPublished:
- Entering play Friday, the A’s were 7-1 in their last eight home games when facing the Halos
- The Angels were 1-3 against the spread as a road underdog so far this season
- Read below for a preview and betting prediction for the game
The Oakland Athletics have held forth as leaders in the AL West for 19 successive days. However, they can see a familiar foe closing quickly in the rear-view mirror.
The defending AL champion Houston Astros are charging after the front-running A’s, so every day, losing is not an option for Oakland. Next up for the Athletics on the hit parade are the Los Angeles Angels.
They clash in the second game of a three-game weekend series on Saturday afternoon (August 22nd, 4:10 pm EST) at Oakland’s Ring Central Coliseum. Bookmakers are favoring the A’s to keep on rolling. Oakland is offered as the -148 home chalk in the Angels vs Athletics odds.
Angels vs Athletics Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Runline | Total at DraftKings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Angels | +125 | +1.5 (-159) | O 9.5 (-114) |
| Oakland Athletics | -148 | -1.5 (+133) | U 9.5 (-107) |
Odds as of Aug. 22nd.
The Angels are assigned a betting line of +125. The Halos entered Friday’s action with a 1-3 slate against the spread as a road underdog. Among MLB teams, only the Atlanta Braves (1-6) were worse.
Ownership Has Its Privileges
The trek to Oakland is among the shortest road trips that the Angels make but of late, that journey has proven to be a highway to Hell for them. As the teams took to the diamond for Friday’s series opener, the Athletics showed three straight wins over the Angels on their home turf.
The past eight games in Oakland had seen the Angels coming out on the short end of the final scoreline seven times. This season, the Athletics own a .785 home-field winning percentage (11-3). That’s second overall in the AL. The Angels were an AL-worst .250 (3-9) on the road.
Stephen and the offense are ROLLING #RootedInOakland pic.twitter.com/6eSTug6mGV
— Oakland A's (@Athletics) August 22, 2020
Seven of the last 10 A’s-Angels contests played in Oakland show the final outcome going over the 9.5 run total assigned to this game. Playing the over at -114 might not be a bad idea.
Against all opponents, Oakland was 6-4 through its last 10 games. The Halos were 3-7.
Better Late Than Never
The Athletics have tabulated 53 runs in the seventh inning or later of games this season. That’s second in the majors to the 54 scored by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
There's "loud contact" and then there's "Might get a noise complaint" loud contact 💥#RootedInOakland pic.twitter.com/T317kUGj0D
— Oakland A's (@Athletics) August 22, 2020
Oakland has posted a trio of walkoff wins so far this season. According to TeamRankings.com, Oakland owns an MLB-leading 3.36 luck rating.
Bassitt Seeking Deep Drives
When a baseball player talks about going deep, it usually has to do with driving balls over the outfield fence. In the case of A’s starter Chris Bassitt, he’s more focused on taking the ball to the hill longer into games.
Chris Bassitt, 94mph Fastball (Called Strike) and 72mph Curveball (swinging K), Overlay. pic.twitter.com/quWznt0H4l
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 18, 2020
On the surface, there’s nothing to complain about regarding Bassitt’s work. He’s 2-0 with a 2.93 ERA and has struck out 22 in 27.1 innnings while waking just seven and surrendering 21 hits.
Angels Career Stats vs Bassitt
| Player | AB | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jo Adell | 2 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Anthony Bemboom | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Jason Castro | 10 | 0 | 1 | .300 |
| David Fletcher | 9 | 0 | 1 | .444 |
| Brian Goodwin | 5 | 0 | 0 | .200 |
| Tommy LaStella | 10 | 0 | 1 | .300 |
| Albert Pujols | 12 | 1 | 2 | .417 |
| Anthony Rendon | 3 | 1 | 1 | .333 |
| Luis Renfigo | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| Andrelton Simmons | 4 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Mike Trout | 14 | 1 | 2 | .429 |
| Justin Upton | 10 | 0 | 1 | .400 |
His WHIP is an impressive 1.012. However, Bassitt hasn’t lasted longer than 5. 1 innings in any of his starts and wants to carry on further into the game to save wear and tear on the Oakland bullpen.
He’s just 3-2 with a 6.00 ERA in eight career appearances against the Angels, including six starts. Bassitt beat the Halos 8-4 on Aug. 12. He also worked four scoreless innings against them on July 27 but didn’t figure in the decision of a 3-0 Oakland victory.
Giving Canning A Caning
Angels starter Griffin Canning is 0-3 with a 4.70 ERA this season. Two of those losses were handed to him by the A’s.
Griffin Canning looks way off right now. Beyond the command issues (see below), there was very little separation between his fastball (92.2 mph) and his slowest breaking ball (86.5 mph curve). #Angels pic.twitter.com/uUDmDiHf9l
— Brent Maguire (@bmags94) August 18, 2020
He lost 3-0 on July 27 and 8-4 on Aug.12. Bassitt was Oakland’s starter in both games.
Athletics Career Stats vs Canning
| Player | AB | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin Allen | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Mark Canha | 8 | 1 | 1 | .250 |
| Matt Chapman | 12 | 0 | 1 | .333 |
| Khris Davis | 7 | 0 | 1 | .143 |
| Robbie Grossman | 10 | 1 | 2 | .300 |
| Tony Kemp | 4 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Ramon Laureano | 9 | 2 | 4 | .444 |
| Vimael Machin | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Sean Murphy | 4 | 0 | 0 | .250 |
| Matt Olson | 11 | 2 | 2 | .182 |
| Chad Pinder | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Stephen Piscotty | 8 | 1 | 2 | .125 |
| Marcus Semien | 14 | 1 | 1 | .286 |
Canning’s been roughed up by everybody lately. He’s coughed up seven runs over his last 8.2 innings on the bump. He’s failed to work into the fifth inning in each of his last three starts.
Pick: Oakland Athletics (-148).
Sports Writer
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
