One of the great things about the MLB is that it never seems to deliver new stars to make the game more exciting every single year. Last year, we were treated to the explosive power of Aaron Judge of the Yankees, while this season, it has been the two-way antics of Shohei Ohtani that has left us all a little breathless. With pitchers in the American League, we are used to seeing rather tame at-bats when it’s their time to step into the batter’s box, but Ohtani has revolutionized the position, adding a legitimate offensive weapon to the Angels while still maintaining the ability to mow down the opposing team’s offense when he is on the mound, which is why they are in control of the MLB Spread for this one.
The Angels have played this dual role to perfection in the early going, and they find themselves in a division race right now. LA is on a bit of a slump at the moment and has what appears to be a tricky little road trip north of the border to face the Toronto Blue Jays, but they come in as the favorite at the MLB Odds. The first game of this series will go on Tuesday night.
This is a team in full rebuilding mode, though, so we shouldn’t really be surprised that they are coming back to earth this suddenly. The Blue Jays are 9-9 in their own building, but the bad news here is that they are just 4-9 overall when playing teams from the West. It will be JA Happ (5-3, 4.15 ERA) on the mound for Toronto on Tuesday night.
Angels vs. Blue Jays MLB Spread & Game Preview
- When: Tuesday, May 22 at 7:07 PM EST
- Where: Rogers Centre, Toronto
- Starting Pitchers: Garrett Richards vs. JA Happ
- TV: FS-W / SNET
- Radio: Los Angeles KLAA 830 / SN590
- Live Stream: MLB.tv
- MLB Spread: LA Angels -1.5 (Over/Under at 8.5)
Recent Head to Head (Last 10 Games)
- Runs: LA Angels 4.90 / Toronto Blue Jays 4.30
- Hits: LA Angels 9.00 / Toronto Blue Jays 8.80
- Walks: LA Angels 3.40 / Toronto Blue Jays 4.30
- Strike Outs: LA Angels 6.30 / Toronto Blue Jays 8.30
Why bet on the LA Angels?
It was the LA Angels who were setting the pace in the early going, but they have run into a major roadblock that has seen them win just 3 games in their last 10. They did manage to break out of a 5-game losing skid with a win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday night, and the hope is that they can turn that win into a positive run of form that looks more like what they were delivering just a few short weeks ago. If you look at the expected win/loss record of this team, they are exactly where the experts thought they would be at this point with a 26-21 record. Things could have been so much better, though, were it not for this slump, but the good news is that they are still just 3 ½ games out of first in the West. This is a team that has thrived on the road, going 14-4 thus far. They will send Garrett Richards (4-2, 3.47 ERA) to the mound for this one.Team Statistics
Offense- Runs: 4.66
- Hits: 8.60
- Walks: 3.30
- Strike Outs: 7.79
- Runs: 4.21
- Hits: 8.40
- Walks: 3.74
- Strike Outs: 9.45
Why bet on the Toronto Blue Jays?
After a fine start to the season, the Toronto Blue Jays are starting to slip back into the position where we expected them to be. They come into this week on a 4-game losing skid that has dropped them below .500 on the season. They also have just 2 wins in the last 8 games, which gives you an indication of just how far removed they now are from the early season form they momentarily flashed.
This is a team in full rebuilding mode, though, so we shouldn’t really be surprised that they are coming back to earth this suddenly. The Blue Jays are 9-9 in their own building, but the bad news here is that they are just 4-9 overall when playing teams from the West. It will be JA Happ (5-3, 4.15 ERA) on the mound for Toronto on Tuesday night.
Team Statistics
Offense- Runs: 4.77
- Hits: 7.83
- Walks: 3.77
- Strike Outs: 9.02
- Runs: 4.96
- Hits: 9.30
- Walks: 3.60
- Strike Outs: 8.60
Latest MLB Betting Trends
- Angels are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games
- Angels are 1-5 SU in their last 6 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of LA Angels’ last 6 games on the road
- Blue Jays are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games
- Blue Jays are SU in their last 8 games
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Toronto’s last 6 games
- Richards is 2-2 when starting against Toronto with an ERA of 5.70 and a WHIP of 1.633
- Happ is 1-6 when starting against LA with an ERA of 6.17 and a WHIP of 1.572
