Angels vs. Dodgers Odds
| Angels Odds | +170 |
| Dodgers Odds | -190 |
| Over/Under | 8.5 (-115/-105) |
| Time | 10:10 p.m. ET |
| TV | MLB.TV |
| Odds via Caesars. Get up-to-the-minute MLB odds here. | |
Tuesday's Freeway Series opener featured a thrilling finish, as Max Stassi struck-out with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth to hand the Dodgers the victory.
The Angels' offense failed to manage anything of substance off of Tony Gonsolin, who was utterly dominant yet again. The Angels have now dropped 16 of their last 17 contests, and will send Reid Detmers to the mound Wednesday hoping to find a much-needed win.
The Dodgers will counter with lefty Tyler Anderson, whose excellent early results have gone a long ways to covering some notable absences from the pitching staff.
Will Anderson keep the Angels in check yet again?
Angels Looking To Get Offense Going
The Angels were unable to breakthrough with anything of substance offensively yet again Tuesday in what was a very strong showing from Gonsolin and the Dodgers staff.
However, even throughout what has been a painful month plagued with injuries, and a career worst slump from Mike Trout, the Angels have batted to a 98 wRC+ and a .304 wOBA in what has clearly been an anomaly for this offence with the talent on board.
If Taylor Ward can produce anywhere near what we saw early on this season, his return to the lineup will make a significant difference, and he has been a big part of the Angels playing to an eighth-best xWOBA of .338.
The Angels have hit left-handed pitching respectably as well in 2022, with a 102 wRC+. They also hit both the cutter and changeup very effectively, which are important notes heading in to this matchup with Anderson.
Detmers has remained consistently inconsistent so far this season, but managed a strong outing last time out vs the red-hot Red Sox, pitching 4 1/3 scoreless innings.
Dating back to his no-hitter on May 10, Detmers has mainly been quite solid, accumulating an ERA of 2.73 with a WHIP of 0.9377.
Dodgers' Bats In a Slump
The Dodgers' offense is also slumping, as they hold a wRC+ of just 91 over the last two weeks.
However it's obvious to say that this very proven Dodgers lineup is simply going through a cold-streak, and I think what we are seeing is nothing but a natural dip which every side will exhibit over a 162 game season.
Anderson has been fantastic for the Dodgers so far in 2022, pitching to a 7-0 record with a 3.07 ERA, and could quite possibly be headed to the All-Star Game.
His underlying numbers all look solid, and his xERA of 3.19 certainly suggests his results have been far from a fluke.
However, Anderson has faced a far easier slate of offensive competition than average, and it does appear that could have inflated his results even farther.
Anderson has faced an average of teams ranking 17.9th with regards to wRC+ vs. left-handed pitching, and has pitched to an ERA of 7.16 vs teams ranked 13th or higher in that regard.
So while I'm far from suggesting Anderson is as bad as that number suggests, beating up on softer competition has certainly boosted Anderson's numbers this season.
His 4.33 QOPA is another comment that possibly things may continue to go south vs tougher lineups, whether or not the Angels fall into that category is what currently looks more up for debate.
Angels-Dodgers Pick
Admittedly, I have been off on this take several times of late, but I am willing to go back to the well on the notion that the Angels are very underrated offensively right now, and the breakthrough is coming.
I have had similar takes on the Blue Jays earlier last month, as well as the Braves just at the beginning of this hot streak, and the Red Sox far earlier on in the season.
Those were all obvious candidates for positive regression offensively based solely on the talents, and I believe the Angels fall into the same category and it's only a matter of time for this group.
The Angels get a tough lefty in Anderson here, but the price of its team total surely accounts for that. Two months from now, backing the Angels to get over 3.5 runs at -110 could be rare in next to any situation, and I like moving on this now while we are getting a better number.
Pick: Los Angeles Angels Team Total Runs Over 3.5 (-110, Play to -120).
