The Athletics host the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday, May 21, 2025. First pitch from Sutter Health Park is scheduled for 10:05 p.m. ET; the game will be broadcast on NBCS-CA and FanDuel Sports West.
Find my MLB betting preview and Angels vs Athletics prediction for Wednesday night below.
My Angels vs Athletics Prediction
- Angels vs Athletics pick: Over 10.5 (-115) | Play to -125
My Angels vs Athletics best bet is Over 10.5 (-115). Make sure to find the best odds by checking our live MLB odds page.
Angels vs Athletics Odds
| Angels Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+1.5 -135 | 10.5 -115 / -105 | +145 |
| Athletics Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-1.5 +114 | 10.5 -115 / -105 | -173 |
Angels vs Athletics Projected Starting Pitchers
| RHP Jack Kochanowicz (LAA) | Stat | LHP JP Sears (ATH) |
|---|---|---|
| 3-5 | W-L | 4-3 |
| 0.1 | fWAR (FanGraphs) | 0.9 |
| 4.71/4.56 | ERA /xERA | 3.31/3.57 |
| 5.26/4.94 | FIP / xFIP | 3.93/4.43 |
| 1.47 | WHIP | 1.10 |
| 3.3% | K-BB% | 13.9% |
| 53.5% | GB% | 36.4% |
| 94 | Stuff+ | 98 |
| 97 | Location+ | 108 |
Kenny Ducey’s Angels vs Athletics Preview
Los Angeles Angels Betting Preview
Jack Kochanowicz has had a rocky start to his big-league career, which is nothing new for a young pitcher — especially one in an organization which is notoriously aggressive with moving their prospects through the system.
There aren't a ton of good things happening, other than the fact that Kochanowicz has managed to keep on rolling up grounders. His infield defense is up to 13th in Outs Above Average after a slow start which would certainly give his style some credence, and it would also mean there's little hope his minuscule 13.7% strikeout rate will be rising all that much.
Kochanowicz's biggest issue has been walks; he checked in at just 3.8% a season ago but has taken a massive hit this season with a 10.4% walk rate. That number had sat comfortably around 6-7% in the minors, and unfortunately, it's been a consistent theme this year, which doesn't seem to be improving, with eight walks coming in his last two starts.
His Expected Batting Average has at least come down from .288 in a small sample last season to .267, but the influx of walks has made that a rather moot point. He seems to stand a good chance of racking up outs on contact with how his defense has played, but this is very much a half-baked version of who he can be. His barrel rate is also up to 8.9% — which is nearly two points higher than the league average — and that's rather disappointing to see for a guy who's hell-bent on keeping the ball on the ground.
Athletics Betting Preview
JP Sears is a bit further ahead in his development at 29 years of age, but while he's looked the part of an above-average starter, it's not as if he's blowing his opposition away as his numbers would suggest.
Sears is still maintaining a weak strikeout rate at 18.8%, but his walk rate has dropped for a fourth straight season down to 5%. That's put the onus on figuring out what's going to happen when the ball's put back into play, and the good news is that he's seemed to escape the many issues he's had with home runs over the years with a 7.3% barrel rate which is roughly league-average and a .424 Expected Slugging which is mediocre, but one that would represent a career-low.
The lefty is still pitching primarily to fly balls at 10 points higher than average, and with his hard-hit rate sitting at a comfortable 39.1%, it would seem he's tracking towards maintaining at least slightly above-average numbers even if he isn't a shut-down strikeout arm.
Angels vs Athletics Prediction, Betting Analysis
It's once again time to look at some good old-fashioned legacy stats in a matchup between an extreme ground-ball pitcher and a heavy fly-baller.
The Angels are hitting the latter just slightly better than the former, checking in with the 18th-best OPS against fly-ball arms, and on the other side of the coin, the Athletics are 10th against ground-ballers and 13th in the reverse split.
L.A. is back in business offensively with Yoan Moncada returning from a years-long hibernation and Matthew Lugo scorching the ball in his first taste of big-league action. It ranks 10th in wRC+ over the last two weeks and has flashed incredible power with a .209 ISO, and we're seeing the downside of that heavy home-run approach with a dastardly 28% strikeout rate.
The good news is that Sears isn't striking many guys out, and he's giving up a ton of fly balls, which seems like it should work out for this red-hot offense, given the ground-ball/fly-ball splits.
The Athletics should stand a good chance of coming back to life here, too, given they generally excel against ground-ballers with their swing-happy approach. Their ISO is still strong, and rising once again, at .161 in the last 14 days which should have Kochanowicz sweating given he's had a tough time limiting the damage on contact.
While we may not see those walk issues creep back into play, given the Athletics' swing at just about everything, I still just don't see a ton of reasons to have much faith in Kochanowicz quite yet. I'd love to ride the wave with the Angels, but the better move is heading for the total.
Pick: Over 10.5 (-115)
Moneyline
I will not be betting on either side of the Moneyline.
Run Line (Spread)
Same for the Run Line.
Over/Under
As mentioned above, I see an edge on Game Totals betting on Over 10.5
Angels vs Athletics Betting Trends
