Angels vs Phillies Prediction Today | MLB Odds, Picks for Wednesday, August 30

The Philadelphia Phillies are playing well as they maintain the top spot in the National League Wild Card race. They also get to play one of the worst teams in baseball over the past couple weeks — the Los Angeles Angels.

The Phillies will start Cristopher Sánchez against Reid Detmers of the Angels. Sánchez has been great in Philadelphia's rotation, while Detmers has shown some weaknesses.

Since the Phillies have been able to hit lefties well in August, their team total should be the correct play in this one.

Detmers owns a 5.03 ERA against a 4.52 xERA. His Average Exit Velocity is 90 mph with a 42% Hard-Hit Rate. He's walking 9.5% of hitters and has a 26.5% strikeout rate. He tossed a shutout about two weeks ago, but has given up seven, seven and four earned runs in his other August starts. In addition, he's only struck out 12 batters this month, but has walked 11 As a result, the Phillies offense should have plenty of success.

The Angels have been awful off of lefties this month. They own a 56 wRC+ with a 6.8% walk rate and a 27.1% strikeout rate. Their OPS is .581 and they have three active hitters with an xwOBA over .320. Sánchez and the red-hot Philly bullpen should take care of business.

In relief, Los Angeles has a 4.92 xFIP with a 23.3% strikeout rate and 11.6% walk rate.

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Sánchez has a 3.33 ERA against a 3.66 xERA. His Average Exit Velocity is 88.5 mph with a 39.5% Hard-Hit Rate. He is only walking 4.3% of batters and striking out 22.9% of them. He has a 4.70 ERA over four August starts, but things has looked good lately as he's surrendered just two earned runs in each of his past three starts. He should be fine in this spot, especially against a weak Angels’ lineup.

The Phillies can hit. They excel when a lefty is throwing, particularly this month. They have a 130 wRC+ with an 8.7% walk rate, a 23.7% strikeout rate and a .857 OPS. The Phillies have seven batters with an xwOBA over .320 and should be able to take advantage of Detmers' recent struggles.

The Phillies are large moneyline favorites in this game. That's a fine bet, but the Phillies should hammer Detmers and a weak Angels' bullpen. The Phillies have a complete lineup and have been hot against lefties, so back them to continue that streak. Bet Philadelphia's team total over 5 (-105), and play it to 5.5 (-133).

Pick: Philadelphia Phillies Over 5 (-105) | Play to 5.5 (-133)