Minnesota at LA Angels Thursday MLB Betting Analysis & Prediction

The Los Angeles Angels got the bad news they were dreading: superstar outfielder Mike Trout could miss up to two months with a wrist injury. I don’t recommend betting the Angels much without Trout. They open a four-game home series with AL Central-leading Minnesota on Thursday. The Twins are ending a 3 game series against the Houston Astros, which currently stands 0-2. For the Angels, they also end a 3 game series today against the Atlanta Braves. That currently stands at 1-1.

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Minnesota at LA Angels Thursday MLB Betting Analysis & Prediction

Smile! https://t.co/AggWCfnNlP (via MLB Fans) pic.twitter.com/N8EbsDjyjs

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) May 31, 2017

When: Thursday, June 1, 10:07 PM ET Where: Angel Stadium of Anaheim Probable pitchers (away/home): Adalberto Mejia/JC Ramirez TV: MLB Extra Innings Stream: MLB.tv Radio: Minnesota / Los Angeles Opening MLB Lines: TBA

Why Bet On Minnesota?

Twins closer Glen Perkins is trying to work his way back to the majors. Perkins (shoulder) faced live hitters Tuesday for the first time since April 20, 2016. Ehire Adrianza and Chris Gimenez took at-bats against the veteran left-hander during a simulated appearance. Perkins is working his way back from major shoulder surgery and could soon be cleared for a minor league rehab assignment. He appears on track to rejoin the Twins’ bullpen sometime in mid-to-late June. The Twins have recalled left-handed pitcher Buddy Boshers from Triple-A Rochester. To make room on the 25-man roster the Twins optioned right-handed pitcher Drew Rucinski to Triple-A. Boshers has made two appearances for the Twins this season, allowing one run in 3.0 innings. In 14 relief appearances for A Rochester, Boshers has a 4.38 ERA (12.1 IP, 6 ER). Meanwhile, the Twins avoided disaster on star center fielder Byron Buxton on Monday. Buxton was pulled from that game against the Astros after cutting his right ring finger on teammate Eddie Rosario’s cleats, but X-rays turned up negative. Buxton was back in there Tuesday. He’s not hitting much but is a dynamic defender. The Twins rank first in baseball in defensive efficiency (.721), which judges a percentage of balls in play that are converted to outs. They have committed just 18 errors this season, the second fewest in baseball, trailing only Kansas City (16). Last season the Twins finished second in baseball in team errors (126), trailing only Milwaukee (136). It’s rookie Adalberto Mejia (1-1, 4.64) on the mound for the Twins. Mejia gave up two runs in five innings and settled for a no-decision against the Rays on Saturday. He pitched well in his fourth major-league start. Both runs were driven in by Rays’ catcher Derek Norris. The first one came on a second-inning single, the second one on a fourth-inning sacrifice fly. The 23-year- old Mejia surrendered six base hits and two walks while notching six strikeouts. He has 19 strikeouts and 12 walks in 21 1/3 innings

Why Bet On LA Angels?

The Trout injury is nothing short of devastating. He will miss 6-8 weeks after having surgery Wednesday to repair the UCL in his left thumb after being injured while sliding hands-first into second base during a game against the Miami Marlins on Sunday. Even with Trout and his major-league- leading 3.5 wins above replacement, Los Angeles is a below .500 and had just a 14 percent chance of making the playoffs. Losing six to eight weeks of Trout would cost the Angels about 2.2 wins. The Angels lost shortstop Andrelton Simmons to a similar thumb injury last season. He had surgery and was out slightly over five weeks. Trout has 16 home runs — second to New York Yankees rookie Aaron Judge for the major league lead — and is fourth in the AL with 36 RBIs. “Not having a guy like Mike, things are definitely stacked against us, but we have a lot of guys in here, and if we play together, if we pull together as a team, we can still be pretty good,” Kole Calhoun said. In addition to Trout, the Angels are also without starting pitchers Tyler Skaggs and Garrett Richards, while Andrew Heaney is recovering from Tommy John surgery. Third baseman Yunel Escobar (hamstring) ran the bases this week. Escobar, who is coming back from a left hamstring strain, has been hitting and taking ground balls for the past week. He was originally expected to miss 2-4 weeks and it sounds like he should be able to meet that timetable. It’s JC Ramirez (5-3, 3.38) on the mound here. Ramirez yielded only an unearned run over seven innings of work Saturday in a win over the Marlins. Ramirez scattered seven hits and a walk. He’s provided impressive length in nine starts, four times going seven innings and registering five quality starts. Ramirez has allowed two runs or fewer in six of his last seven starts, going 3-1 with a 2.35 ERA. He is the lone Angels starter to complete seven innings on four occasions this season. He entered 2017 without a big-league start.

Minnesota at LA Angels MLB Betting Pick: LA Angels

OK, I’ll recommend the Angels here because they are home and Ramirez has been solid. But don’t bet them often while Trout is out.