The Cleveland Guardians made one big trade this week, and the two newly-acquired outfielders should be in the lineup for the team on Friday in a series opener against the visiting Los Angeles Angels. The Tribe will be solid favorites on the MLB Lines.
Angels vs Indians MLB Spread & Game Analysis
- When: Friday, 7:10 PM ET
- Where: Progressive Field
- Probable pitchers (away/home): Opener & Felix Pena/Mike Clevinger
- TV: MLB Network
- MLB Spread: Cleveland Indians -1.5 (Total 9.5)
Red Sox vs Yankees MLB Lines & Pick for Friday Night
Why Bet on LA Angels?
L.A. is trying to hang around the Wild-Card race at 56-54 but has lost five of seven. They were pounded 9-1 at home by horrible Detroit on Wednesday. Mike Trout hit his 35th homer to account for the Angels’ lone run Wednesday. Trout finished July with 13 homers and 29 RBI in just 22 games. He’d be an easy call for Player of the Month honors most of the time but probably finishes second to Houston’s Yuli Gurriel.
Trout started July with 69.5 career WAR. With another fantastic month — he hit .286/.392/.821, ended July leading the American League in WAR and raised his career mark to 71.1 — he passed eight more Hall of Famers. Trout is the fastest Angels player to reach 275 homers, doing it in 1,168 games. Tim Salmon’s 299 homers are tops all-time by a Halo.
The team has activated catcher Jonathan Lucroy from the seven-day concussion list and designated catcher Dustin Garneau for assignment. Lucroy returned to the lineup Wednesday and had a hit also missed a key tag on a Kole Calhoun money throw in the third inning.
The Halos start Felix Pena – well he won’t start but will follow an opener. Pena allowed four runs (one earned) on three hits and three walks across five innings in a no-decision Sunday against the Orioles. He struck out five. Pena allowed one run while limiting baserunners over the first four innings, but a walk, his own error and a pair of hits led to three unearned runs in the fifth. He labored through his final inning and didn’t come back out for the sixth, watching as the bullpen held on over the final four frames. Pena lasted just 3.2 innings in his previous start, so it was positive to see him pitch deeper into the game. He will take a 4.66 ERA into Friday.
L.A. has used an opener to begin 20 games this season with six different relievers making starts. LAA is 12-8 in games with an opener. The Angels have used an opener in front of Pena in 14 of his last 16 appearances.
Team Stats
Offense- Runs: 5.09
- Hits: 8.84
- Walks: 3.64
- Strike Outs: 7.12
Defense
- Runs: 5.08
- Hits: 8.58
- Walks: 3.58
- Strike Outs: 8.84
Why Bet on Cleveland?
With the additions of outfielder Franmil Reyes from San Diego and Yasiel Puig from Cincinnati in the Trevor Bauer three-way trade this week, the Indians hade to make room for both. So they optioned outfielders Greg Allen and Jake Bauers to Triple-A. Allen has hit .230/.296/.381 with two home runs and two stolen bases in 47 games this season with Cleveland. Bauers owned a disappointing .233/.308/.379 batting line in 383 plate appearances this season at the MLB level.
Jose Ramirez has hit safely in 30 of his last 36 contests and has reached base safely in 34 of the 36. The switch-hitter has recorded 15 extra-base hits over his last 16 games. According to Statcast, Ramírez has a hard-hit percentage of 45.9 in July, his highest mark in a single month in the Statcast era (since 2015) and the 4th-best rate in the Majors this month (min. 75 total pitches).
The Indians go with Mike Clevinger. Clevinger (5-2) struck out seven and picked up the win over the Royals on Saturday, giving up one run on eight hits over seven innings. Jason Kipnis’ grand slam staked the right-hander to a 4-0 lead before he even set foot on the mound, and Clevinger never gave Kansas City a chance to get back into the game. He’s now 8-0 lifetime against the Royals, the most wins without a loss in history against the franchise by any pitcher.
Clevinger will take a 3.28 ERA and 72:15 K:BB through 49.1 innings into this outing. He will attempt to carry the momentum he built in July over to August. In five July starts, the righty pitched to a 1.74 ERA with 41 strikeouts in 31 innings.
Team Stats
Offense- Runs: 4.66
- Hits: 8.32
- Walks: 3.50
- Strike Outs: 8.20
Defense
- Runs: 4.04
- Hits: 7.92
- Walks: 2.79
- Strike Outs: 9.41
Brewers vs Cubs MLB Odds, Preview & Prediction
Angels vs Indians MLB Betting Trends
- Angels are 2-8 in their last 10 Friday games
- Indians are 4-1 in their last 5 during game 1 of a series
- Under is 5-2 in the last 7 meetings
- Angels are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games on the road
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of LA Angels’ last 5 games played in August
- Indians are 13-5 SU in their last 18 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Cleveland’s last 5 games at home
Expert Final Score Prediction for Angels vs Indians
Los Angeles Angels 3 – Cleveland Indians 6
