Angels vs. Tigers Odds
| Angels Odds | -110 |
| Tigers Odds | -110 |
| Over/Under | 9 |
| Time | 1:10 p.m. ET |
| TV | MLB.TV |
| Odds as of Wednesday via DraftKings. | |
Injuries continue to plague the Los Angeles Angels. Thursday's original starter, Patrick Sandoval, could miss the rest of the season. That means José Quintana will be tasked with keeping the Angels' recent road success intact.
The Angels are 5-1 against the Tigers, having won three of four out in Los Angeles. Thursday's contest will be the final between the two clubs this season.
Detroit is over .500 at home in 2021, while Los Angeles is below .500 in mid-August yet again.
Angels Bucking Season-Long Road Woes
Going 5-4 on the road does not sound like a changing of the tides, but the Angels started August by winning four of five road games against the Rangers and the Dodgers. The Angels technically won a road game against Toronto but it was played in Angels Stadium.
The offense has struggled against right handers on the road. Their 88 wRC+ is tied for 19th in baseball. To their credit the Angels have faced Walker Buehler and Gerrit Cole this month. The offense can help starter Quintana by taking walks and barreling the ball against Detroit starter Matt Manning. LA has the worst road walk rate against righties and sit 18th in slugging percentage.
Quintana has been out of the Angels rotation for three months and has been a roller-coaster as a long reliever. He does deserve credit for only allowing two earned runs over his past six outings (seven innings). Quintana also has eight strikeouts but six came in one appearance.
He has struggled mightily on the road as a reliever and starter, allowing multiple runs in five of six appearances on the road; Quintana has an 8.66 road ERA and .590 slugging percentage against in 17-plus innings.
Tigers Need Offensive Production
Detroit has shown a lot of promise and while it has not always been on offense, the talent has played against southpaws. Its 108 home wRC+ against lefties is 12th in MLB and are in the top half of walk rate. The strikeouts remain a concern, but the Tigers certainly aren't alone in MLB with that.
The Tigers have a 1.09 ground ball-to-fly ball ratio and an MLB-best 59.6% medium-hit percentage versus pitchers like Quintana. That is 3.8% higher than second. The question is how long will Quintana pitch and will the Tigers be able to make solid contact with Manning struggling for Detroit?
Does Manning miss bats? Not really. Walk batters? More than preferred. It has been tough sledding for the 2016 ninth overall pick. What has been good for the rookie is a 3.15 home ERA, five runs below his road ERA in eight fewer innings.
Manning has allowed two home runs in 20 home innings compared to five in 28-plus on the road. That plays against the Angels' power outage with the likes of Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon injured.
Angels-Tigers Pick
Neither team is particularly exciting, but since opening the over/under has gone up one-half run. With both teams struggling and the Angels going under nine runs in seven of their 10 August road games, the under is my favorite target. Under nine has gone 6-4-1 in Detroit's last two homestands.
Prior to Sandoval's IL announcement, the Tigers were home underdogs and now have the same odds with the Angels on the moneyline. I was feeling better about betting the home dogs, but can also feel good about Detroit's chances to take an early lead.
Pick: Under 9 runs (+100, bet to -105) | Tigers F5 (up to -110)
