The Los Angeles Angels (12-18) host the Detroit Tigers (20-12) on May 2, 2025. First pitch from Angel Stadium is scheduled for 9:38 p.m. ET; the game will be broadcast on FanDuel Sports West/Detroit.
Find my MLB betting preview and Tigers vs Angels prediction below, as well as probable pitchers, betting trends and more.
Tigers vs Angels Prediction
- Tigers vs Angels pick: Over 7.5 (-105) | Play to -110
My Tigers vs Angels best bet is the over. Make sure to find the best odds by checking our live MLB odds page.
Tigers vs Angels Odds
| Tigers Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Run Line | Total | Moneyline |
-1.5 -118 | 7.5 +100o / -120u | -198 |
| Angels Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Run Line | Total | Moneyline |
+1.5 -102 | 7.5 +100o / -120u | +164 |
Tigers vs Angels Projected Starting Pitchers
| LHP Tarik Skubal (DET) | Stat | RHP Jose Soriano (LAA) |
|---|---|---|
| 3-2 | W-L | 2-4 |
| 1.2 | fWAR (FanGraphs) | 0.5 |
| 2.34/2.78 | ERA /xERA | 4.50/4.16 |
| 2.40/2.75 | FIP / xFIP | 4.00/3.61 |
| 1.04 | WHIP | 1.47 |
| 25.2 | K-BB% | 7.6 |
| 38.7 | GB% | 63.7% |
| 118 | Stuff+ | 96 |
| 110 | Location+ | 107 |
Tigers vs Angels Preview & Prediction Tonight
Tigers Betting Preview: Skubal's Dominance Faces a Soft Lineup
It's getting pretty boring writing about Tarik Skubal. The man does it all on the hill, flaunting excellent strikeout and walk numbers next to another neat-and-tidy ERA in the mid-twos.
He had a shaky start to the year, allowing four runs against the Los Angeles Dodgers and three against the surprisingly potent Seattle Mariners, but since, he's surrendered just two runs in four starts.
It sure would seem as though the slow start to the year was a combination of normal rust and some tough matchups, and on top of that, he's yet to allow a home run after giving up three in those outings against L.A. and Seattle.
I'm just ever so skeptical of his ability to get outs on contact, however, at least in comparison to his Cy Young campaign in 2024. His Expected Batting Average has sat around .200 for two seasons but is up to .240 this year as he's experienced a heavy drop in ground-ball rate.
There's not too much to be overly concerned about, given his hard-hit rate is still elite and his Expected Slugging remains 50 points better than average — and it's also not like he's walking anyone.
Still, it would seem his sinker is staying up in the zone a bit too much, as is his slider — two pitches he recorded excellent numbers on a year ago.
Angels Betting Preview: Fallen Halos
I'll admit, I was buying the Angels for a moment. I've always loved this team's ability to assemble an island of misfit toys around Mike Trout and some legitimate talents like Zach Neto and Logan O'Hoppe, and this season, things got off to a great start.
Well, L.A. now sits 26th in wRC+ this year. The Kyren Paris "Linsanity" run is over, Trout is hurt again and this team's power is slowly dissipating as its strikeout rate remains putrid, up over 26%.
It's not as if this order looks like the worst one on paper, even if you peruse the collective OPS of the top six in the lineup, but now down Trout and a couple of fast-starting bats, this team would stand a liability against Skubal.
Jose Soriano, who will take the ball here for the home team, certainly hasn't forgotten how to roll up ground balls like his counterpart. He's done so at a 64.4% clip which nearly leads the league, but it's brought him very little happiness.
Despite the fact that the Angels' infield ranks a respectable 13th in Outs Above Average, opponents are .269 against him with a .270 xBA. The defense is stealing away very little (probably because of his poor 45.2% hard-hit rate) and with few strikeouts and a ton of walks, he's really going to need them to.
I don't think Soriano is a pitcher we can totally write off — there's something here — but he's very matchup-dependent at the moment.
Tigers vs Angels Prediction, Betting Analysis
This isn't exactly a great matchup for Soriano, heading up against a Tigers team that ranks seventh in OPS to ground-ball pitchers, and on top of that, they continue to pad their walk rate, which is an area the righty is really hurting.
I'm sour on him here against a hot offense, but I'm not entirely in love with Skubal. I know, this offense is weakening in short order, but there's something here with Skubal's sinker.
It's not delivering like it did a year ago, and the Angels not only rank seven spots lower in OPS against ground-ball pitchers but are 16th in xBA against sinkers.
Getting the sinker going, and keeping the ball on the ground, will be important for Skubal. Perhaps it won't be incredibly vital with how frequently the Angels are striking out, but it's enough of a story here that I'm going to hold my nose and go with the over.
Pick: Over 7.5 (-105)
Moneyline
The sharp money is hitting the Tigers here despite the lofty price, and 97% of the money is headed that way too.
Run Line (Spread)
The Angels have covered just once in their last nine games but remain a more-respectable 9-12 as underdogs. Detroit is 10-5 to the run line as favorites.
Over/Under
Just 6% of the bet and 8% of the money have hit the under, but that's where we've tracked some sharp money coming in. The over is 13-8 when the Angels come in as the underdog.
