Orioles vs Angels Preview: Lack Of Offense Dooms LA
Struggling Angels Home vs Orioles for Three
Orioles vs Angels Preview
The Baltimore Orioles try to continue their success on their current road trip when they play a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels beginning Monday night. Our Orioles vs Angels preview will take a closer look at this series and help you with any bets you are looking to make on the outcome.
Baltimore took two out of three from the Kansas City Royals over the weekend to start its current road swing. The Orioles are in the middle of a tight AL East race, sitting in second place behind the New York Yankees by a half-game entering this series.
Los Angeles is in a slump, having dropped its last four to fall to third place in the AL West. This will be only the Angels’ third home series of this season, as they played 16 of their first 22 games on the road.
The lines for the opener of this series favor the Angels, as they are -114 on the moneyline compared to the Orioles at +104. The MLB runlines have Baltimore at -205 when getting 1.5 runs in the first game of the series, with Los Angeles listed at +175 when giving 1.5. The over/under for the opener is set at 8.5 runs, with -120 odds for the over and -100 for the under.
The series will start with a pair of 9:38 p.m. ET starts on Monday and Tuesday, with the finale being a 4:07 p.m. ET first pitch on Wednesday.
Orioles vs Angels 
Location: Angel Stadium
Day/Time:
Pitching Matchups
Game 1: Albert Suarez (Baltimore) vs Reid Detmers (Los Angeles)
The Orioles will have righty Albert Suarez making his second start of the season in Monday’s series opener. Suarez was very good in his season debut, going 5.2 shutout innings against the Minnesota Twins last Wednesday, allowing just three hits while striking out four and walking none.
Los Angeles will counter with one of the hottest pitchers in baseball this season in left-hander Reid Detmers. The 24-year-old is 3-0 with a 1.19 ERA, which ranks fourth in the majors. In four starts this season, including one against Baltimore in the opening series of the season, Detmers has allowed three earned runs over 22.2 innings, striking out 30.
Game 2: Grayson Rodriguez (Baltimore) vs Griffin Canning (Los Angeles)
The Orioles will have a hot pitcher on the mound for the second game of the series, with righty Grayson Rodriguez making his fifth start of the campaign. Rodriguez is 3-0 with a 2.63 ERA, recording 27 strikeouts in 24 innings. Rodriguez had his best start of the season against the Angels in late March, going six innings and allowing one run on four hits while striking out a season-high nine.
One reason the Angels have struggled to climb up the MLB rankings more consistently this season has been the pitching of Tuesday’s starter, righty Griffin Canning. The 27-year-old is 0-3 with an 8.05 ERA in four starts, allowing at least four runs in each of his first three outings. Canning did limit the Tampa Bay Rays to two runs over 5.1 innings in his last start, so he may be turning the corner.
Game 3: Dean Kremer (Baltimore) vs Tyler Anderson (Los Angeles)
The best MLB weather for this series should be for Wednesday’s daytime contest to wrap things up. Baltimore will have right-hander Dean Kremer making the start as he looks for his first win of the season. Kremer is 0-2 with a 4.91 ERA in four starts, allowing at least three runs in three of them.
The Angels will have a very tough pitcher on the mound for the series finale in lefty Tyler Anderson, who is 2-2 despite a 1.42 ERA. After going seven shutout innings in his first two starts of the season, Anderson has allowed four earned runs over his last two starts, both losses.
Angels Need Offense To Compete
Los Angeles has had some solid pitching this season, but the team’s current four-game losing streak shows how much it is lacking on offense. Over the four-game stretch, the Angels scored a total of seven runs, with five coming in one contest. Los Angeles is 20th in baseball in both batting average (.237) and runs (92).
Superstar outfielder Mike Trout has had the power numbers – tying for second in baseball with eight home runs – but he’s batting just .244 on the season. In the last four MLB games, Trout is 1-for-15 with three strikeouts. The Angels are hoping a return home will help Trout find his groove.
Baltimore hasn’t been having trouble at the plate, scoring 122 runs to rank fifth in the majors in the category. Third baseman Jordan Westburg has been the most consistent player at the plate, hitting .333 with five doubles, a triple, five home runs, 18 RBI and 14 runs scored.
Orioles Get The Edge To Win Series
This series could be tight if the Angels can get their offense going, as their pitching has been solid for much of the season. Baltimore took two of three from Los Angeles in the teams’ season-opening series in late March, helped by an offensive explosion that saw it average 12 runs in the first two games.
Until the Angels start hitting the ball more consistently, we just can’t pick them to beat a Baltimore team that has been one of the best in baseball at the plate. Los Angeles pitchers will have to be at their very best just to keep the Angels in these games. When you’re making your MLB bets on the three games in this series, go with the visiting Orioles.
Orioles vs Angels Runline
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