ODDS ANALYSIS
In what is the tightest division in the baseball, the Yankees are battling for the top spot in the AL East, where just one game separates four teams in the standings. New York continues its swing through the AL West with a visit to the Angels, who they swept earlier this month by scoring 22 runs in three games. The Yanks split a four-game set at Houston over the weekend losing 3-1 on Sunday falling to 3-5 in their last eight games overall, down 5.93 units in that span.
The under is 2-5 in New York’s last seven road games while the Halos cashed the under in four straight home games, in five of six on their current homestand and 10 of their last 12 overall. The Angels will be looking for some payback after being swept in the Bronx in early June getting outscored 22-11 in the three games. Sunday’s win over Seattle moved LA to 11-8 since that series in NY.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Ivan Nova (1-0, 0.00 ERA) returned from Tommy John surgery in style spinning 6.2 scoreless innings of three-hit ball Wednesday against the Phillies. He walked two and struck out one in a 92-pitch effort to log the victory. It was his first time pitching in the majors since Apr. 19, 2014.
Nova hasn’t face the Angels since Aug. 14, 2013 when he gave up 10 hits and three runs in an 11-3 Yankees home win. He is 1-1 with a 4.97 ERA in two career starts at Angel Stadium.
Andrew Heaney (0-0, 1.50 ERA), the Angels’ top prospect, will have his second start of 2015 looking to build on his successful debut. He held the Astros to one run on four hits over six innings in that start getting a no-decision. He was on cruise control walking one with five strikeouts tossing 85 pitches.
Heaney is looking for his first big league win after going 0-3 in seven games – five starts – with the Miami Marlins in 2014. He’ll be facing the Yankees for the first time.
QUOTE TO NOTE
“This is the guy that I know our scouting department and [general manager] Jerry [Dipoto] had hoped we would see in the spring. He’s got real stuff. Hopefully it’s the start of something big for us.” – Angels’ manager Mike Scioscia after Andrew Heaney gave up a run in six innings Wednesday in his team debut.
LIVE BETTING or SITUATIONAL BETTING
There appears to be a growing trend in the Major League’s of using closers during more impactful situations earlier in games. We’ve seen several closers pitch more than the one inning they’re accustomed, including LA’s Houston Street, who retired four hitters in two separate games just last week. New York’s Dellin Betances earned a five-out save on June 17 and retired four hitters for a save at Houston on Friday. That’s not too uncommon, but a closer used to pitch out of a jam in the seventh or eighth inning, still is. The Seattle Mariners employed this strategy against the Angels on Friday when their closer Carson Smith was summoned in the eighth inning with a 3-1 lead with Mike Trout and Albert Pujols due up. The M’s have another closer, Fernando Rodney pitched the ninth in that game. The Angels and Yankees don’t have another closer. The debate continues: should managers base back-end bullpen usage on situation rather than inning?
PROP TALK
Mike Trout is fun to watch. Even on a team that struggles offensively, the superstar does his part to keep the Angels winning ball games. Trout is hitting .300 after going hitless in three trips against Felix Hernandez and the Mariners on Sunday. He’s up to 19 home runs but has just 42 RBIs, all because the hitters in front of him in the lineup aren’t getting on base. He does hit .381 with runners in scoring position, but hasn’t had the chance lately. Trout hasn’t driven in anyone but himself since June 19. He hit a pair of solo home runs when the teams met in Yankee Stadium earlier this month and is a .333 lifetime hitter versus New York and hits .364 with two doubles and four RBIs against Ivan Nova. All LA rallies go through Mike Trout.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
The Angels continue to get zero production at the dish from players not named Trout or Pujols and that will haunt them until that changes. The Halos led the majors in runs scored last season, but after this weekend’s games ranked 20th out of 30 teams. That one number tells us a lot about why the Angels can’t put a streak together to make a run at the Astros in the AL West. New York’s Ivan Nova had a tremendous outing in his first game since last April after Tommy John surgery, silencing the lowly Phillies. He’ll face a better lineup in LA, but not by much.
New York 5, Los Angeles 4
The MLB lines for this contest will first be released by BookMaker Sportsbook. Gamble on the game between every half inning with BookMaker’s live betting feature. Along with an adjusted in-game moneyline, you can wager on what will happen in the next at-bat or how many runs will be scored in the next inning. Live betting is the most exciting way to play!
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here so start betting with BookMaker today! The ballgame pitting the New York Yankees versus the Los Angeles Angels will commence Tuesday, June 30, 2015, at 10:05 p.m. ET at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. You can watch the contest live on the MLB Network.
