Giants vs Angels Preview: Ohtani Set to Pitch in Series Finale for Floundering Angels

Los Angeles Angels Head to San Francisco Looking to Snap A Six-Game Losing Streak

The matchup of California teams features teams looking to get back to winning and that will play a role in the Giants vs Angels preview with the Giants dropping the last two games while the Angels have lost six games in a row.

San Francisco is still tied for the top wild-card spot in the National League with the Angels eight games out of the final postseason spot in the American League.

When looking at the MLB schedule, the Angels are 29-27 at home this season with the Giants 28-27 on the road. The Angels have covered in just 24 of 56 home games this season and are underdogs in the series opener with the Giants priced at -115 to win on Monday.

The Giants have won six of the last seven games against the Angels and have outscored the Angels 45-21.

Only the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Philadelphia Phillies have better odds to win the World Series among National League teams than the Giants. The championship odds for the Angels have fallen to +8000.

Probable Starting Pitchers

• Monday: Logan Webb (Giants); Patrick Sandoval (Angels)
• Tuesday: To Be Announced (Giants); Lucas Giolito (Angels)
• Wednesday: To Be Announced (Giants); Shohei Ohtani (Angels)

Giants Look to Rebound from Oakland Debacle

Things were rolling right along for the San Francisco Giants as they were putting pressure on the Los Angeles Dodgers for the top spot in the National League West Division race before dropping back-to-back games to the lowly Oakland Athletics.

The Giants were limited to three hits in the first game and only got two runners into scoring position in the 2-1 loss. The next day, the Giants did have nine hits but only went 5-of-16 with runners in scoring position in the 8-6 defeat.

When taking a peek at the Giants vs Angels preview, the Giants look to bounce again when they face the floundering Angels.

Ohtani Needs Some Help

Mickey Moniak coming back to earth a bit after a surprising surge and recent acquisitions Randal Grichuk and C.J. Cron also cooling off, there isn’t much protection in the batting order for American League Most Valuable Player front-runner Shohei Ohtani.

When looking at the MLB stats, Ohtani has a .375 batting average over the last seven games. He has also been walked five times and it won’t be a surprise to see the base on balls total continue to rise as Mike Moustakas is the only Angels batter hitting over .300 during this seven-game stretch. Keep that in mind when looking at the Giants vs Angels preview.

Who’s Hot

• Matt Moore, Los Angeles Angels P: Moore has given up four hits and no runs with 10 strikeouts in 7.2 innings over his last seven games.
• Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels DH: Ohtani is 9-for-24 with five walks over his last seven games.
• Lamonte Wade Jr., San Francisco Giants OF: Wade is batting .389 with a double and two home runs in his last five games.
• Ryan Walker, San Francisco Giants P: Walker has surrendered one run with six strikeouts in 8.2 innings over his last five games.

Who’s Not

• Carlos Estevez, Los Angeles Angels P: Estevez has allowed eight hits and eight runs with five walks in five innings in his last four games.
• Austin Slater, San Francisco Giants OF: Slater is 2-for-20 with nine strikeouts in his last nine games.
• Matt Thaiss, Los Angeles Angels C: Thaiss has two hits in his last 16 at-bats even after hitting a home run on Sunday.
• Alex Wood, San Francisco Giants P: Wood has allowed 17 hits and 13 runs over 20 innings in his last six games.

Giants vs Angels Injury Update

Outfielders Luis Gonzalez and Mitch Haniger could return at some point in August for the Giants and the same can be said for pitcher John Brebbia.

For the Angels, Griffin Canning and Ben Joyce could also return in August. It is uncertain when rookie shortstop Zach Neto will be back in the lineup.

Giants vs Angels Betting Preview

With Ohtani set to pitch in the series opener, the Giants will look to take care of business in the first two games of the series since Ohtani is among the top strikeout pitchers in baseball when it comes to the 2023 MLB leaders.

The Giants won two of the three games the last time the teams met in 2021 as they outscored the Angels 14-3 in the last two games.

The Angels rolled the dice and opted not to trade Shohei Ohtani with the hope that they could make a playoff push and that would be enough for him to return in 2024. Things are not progressing well in that department.

The Giants are near the bottom of the league when it comes to games going over the total. Each of San Francisco’s last nine games has been decided by either one or two runs. Both teams are 17-14 in one-run games.

The teams have almost identical records this season when listed as favorites. It is a much different story when they come in as the underdog with the Giants going 25-19 compared to a 23-28 record.

Keep an eye on the rotation for the Giants as they are still waiting to announce the starters for the final two games of the series.

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