After winning 3-2 on Thursday night, the Los Angeles Angels have a chance to get back to .500 on Friday night when they face the Minnesota Twins. The Halos are road favorites on Friday with a moneyline of -135 compared to Minnesota’s moneyline of +115. The game also has an over/under of 10 runs.
At the moment, the Angels aren’t yet out of the playoff race. However, they are just 2-4 since the all-star break, dropping them below .500 on the season. But with a manageable schedule ahead of them, the Halos still have a chance to get going if they can win on Friday and get back to .500.
As for the Twins, their only goal at this point in the season is to avoid finishing last in the AL Central. Minnesota is just 2-6 since the all-star break, dropping them 15 games under .500. The Twins have also started to sell some of their best players, which will make it difficult to avoid a last-place finish.
Happ-y Times
Veteran lefty JA Happ will get the start for the Twins on Friday. It’s been a rough year for the 38-year-old, who has made 17 starts, going 5-5 with a 6.15 ERA. For what it’s worth, Happ has been able to go deep into games lately, completing at least six innings in three of his last four starts, although he has also registered a 7.36 ERA during the month of July.
Meanwhile, the Halos have had a rough week offensively, scoring just eight runs total over their last four games. Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon remain on the IL, so the Los Angeles lineup remains short-handed. To make matters worse, both Shohei Ohtani and Jared Walsh are hitting under .200 since the all-star break, making the Angels even more reliant on their complementary players like David Fletcher and Jose Iglesias.
On the Cobb
The good news for the Halos is that Alex Cobb is ready to get the start on Friday. Cobb has quietly had a strong season in 2021, going 7-3 with a 3.96 ERA over 14 starts. While his season has had some wild swings, Cobb is in the midst of a hot streak, giving up just two earned runs over his three starts in July for an ERA of 0.92 in his last three starts.
Of course, the Twins have been struggling offensively, and that was before they traded away DH on Nelson Cruz. They have already been shut out twice in their eight games since the all-star break while also averaging just three runs per game during that stretch. Without Cruz, Jorge Polanco and Luis Arraez are the only players in the Minnesota lineup who have produced since the break, although Josh Donaldson and Max Kepler have homered twice over the past week.
Fear the Halo
After the Angels won 3-2 on Thursday, they are in better shape to win another low-scoring game on Friday. Both lineups are short-handed at the moment, but Cobb is more likely than Happ to take advantage of that. Bet on the Angels to beat the Twins on Friday.
100% up to $3,000 Bonus
Bovada is our most recommended ONLINE CASINO and POKER ROOM for US players with excellent deposit options. Get your 100% signup bonus today.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.