Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Los Angeles Angels Betting Preview
Saturday night will feature an interleague battle of West teams as the Arizona Diamondbacks (49-34) take on the Los Angeles Angels (44-40). Los Angeles will host this one at Angel Stadium, with the first pitch scheduled for 10:07 pm ET.
In Friday’s opener, the Diamondbacks were victorious 6-2. In the win, Lourdes Gurriel led the way with a grand slam and two runs scored on the night. Tommy Henry picked up the win after firing 5.2 innings of one-run ball.
The Angels are the favorites playing at home on Saturday. They are -120 to win, while the Diamondbacks’ moneyline sits at +102. The runline features Los Angeles +1.5 (-182), and the over/under for total runs is 9.5 (-110).
Diamondbacks Look To Continue Fantastic Start
At 49-34, the Diamondbacks have had a remarkable start to the season. They currently lead the NL West, two games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers. On Saturday, they will look to continue their strong play on the road, where they are 25-14 to date.
Taking the ball for the Diamondbacks is 25-year-old Ryne Nelson. In 16 games, the righty is 4-4 with a 4.97 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, and he has 58 strikeouts in 83.1 innings of work. In his last start, he picked up the win over the Giants after allowing just one run over seven innings.
Offensively, the Diamondbacks rank fifth in the majors in scoring, averaging 5.12 runs per game. They have been even stronger on the road, averaging 5.61 runs.
Leading the team’s offense is Corbin Carroll, who is hitting .290/.366/.559 with a team-leading 17 home runs and 24 stolen bases. He also has 44 runs batted in and 60 runs scored. It will be interesting to see his status for this one, as he sat out the opener with a neck injury.
Angels Try To Turn Around Recent Woes
The Los Angeles Angels currently sit in third in the AL West, six games behind the Texas Rangers. Still, the Angels have had some struggles as of late, losing seven of their last ten games. They will look to turn that around on Saturday at home, where they are 22-19 on the year.
The Angeles currently rank sixth in the majors in scoring, averaging five runs per game (4.65 at home). They are led by perennial MVP candidates in Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout.
For Ohtani, he is hitting .310/.396/.674 with a team-leading 30 home runs, 67 runs batted in, 60 runs scored, and 11 stolen bases. In 293 at bats, Trout is hitting .263/.368/.491 with 17 home runs, 42 runs batted in, and 53 runs scored.
On the mound on Saturday for the Angels will be 33-year-old lefty Tyler Anderson. He is 4-2 in 14 games with a 5.54 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, and he has 60 strikeouts in 74.2 innings. In his last three starts, Anderson has given up ten earned runs over a combined 17 innings.
Take The Diamondbacks To Win On The Road
The Diamondbacks enter this one 14-4 in their last 18 games, but they are 1-4 in their last five against the Angels. In their last six at Angel Stadium, though, they are 4-2.
For Los Angeles, they are 3-7 in their last ten games and 1-10 in their last 11 interleague games against NL West teams.
With both of these teams having solid seasons and no clear advantage on the mound, this one comes down to value. For that reason, take Arizona at +102 straight up to win this one.
