While both entered Sunday under-.500, the Los Angeles Angels and the Atlanta Braves both ranked second in their respective divisions as both have been a bit more competitive than expected in divisions that have been truly terrible to date. In what could have been a showdown between a couple of MVP favorites with Mike Trout and Freddie Freeman may turn into a series with neither after Trout left Sunday’s game with a thumb sprain.
This series will be contested from Monday, May 29, 2017 through Wednesday, May 31, 2017 at Angels Stadium in Anaheim. Monday's clash is being shown live on MLB Network.
Bet on MLB odds at BookMaker.eu every day of the season.
Pitching Matchups
The Braves will book end this series with Julio Teheran and Jaime Garcia on the mound and will throw Bartolo Colon in the middle game.
To counter Atlanta’s opening day starter on Monday, they’ll turn to their own in Ricky Nolasco and then will have Jesse Chavez start Wednesday with Tuesday’s starter still unknown. When the Angels last had to use a fifth starter they turned to Daniel Wright who is currently not on the 25-man roster.
For Monday’s matchup, Teheran is the Braves’ best pitcher despite the 3-4 record, 4.88 ERA and 1.464 WHIP. He’s been struggling with his command. His walks are up, and his strikeouts are down, leaving him at a 1.68 K/BB ratio. His FIP is even higher than his ERA and May numbers are worse.
This month, Teheran is 1-3 with a 6.58 ERA as the walks—and home runs—have done him in.
Given how he’s pitching right now, it’s not a good idea to back the Braves in that game, but Teheran is one of those pitchers who has the stuff to snap out of it. He’s the one pitcher in the Braves’ rotation you can point to as the one that could put together a dominating outing, but he’ll need to be able to locate first and that’s been a real struggle.
Nolasco’s latest start wasn’t a good one. He allowed five runs in six innings pitched and gave up three home runs. He’s given up at least two homers in four of his last five starts in seven of his ten on the year.
Even with the propensity to give up the longball, Nolasco hasn’t too terrible this year. He has a positive rWAR, which hasn’t been the norm for him over the last couple years. He’s 2-4 with a 4.37 ERA though his 5.68 FIP doesn’t paint a rosy picture of what to expect moving forward.
Colon’s counterpart isn’t known and the Angels’ depth is depleted, but if Colon continues to pitch as he has, it doesn’t matter, the Angels will have the edge in this matchup.
The 44-year old is finally showing signs of age. He continued to produce with the Mets and the A’s before that, but he’s 2-5 with a 6.96 ERA. He’s leading the league in earned runs allowed and has seen his walk rate jump by nearly a walk per nine as his control diminishes. He’s also allowing 2.5 more hits per nine.
Colon cannot have too much rope left. He’s allowed 29 runs in his last 29 innings and has one just one of his last seven games. He’s not providing quality or quantity in innings any longer.
With Teheran struggling and Colon’s best well behind him, the Braves will have their best chance for the win on Wednesday with Garcia. The former Cardinal southpaw is pitching well right now. He’s tied with Teheran for the most innings on the team at 55.1 which is something in and of itself given his injury history.
Garcia is 2-3 with a very respectable 3.58 ERA. He’s walk rate, as with most of the Braves’ starters, is high, but the 30-year old has now gone back-to-back with impressive starts. He held the Nationals to one earned run in eight innings and then followed that up with a scoreless outing against the Giants over 6.2 innings.
In his only start against the Angels in his career, Garcia went seven innings, not allowing an earned run.
His counterpart, Jesse Chavez, has faced the Braves four time, but all in relief. He’s yet to allowed a run to them. That figures to change.
Chavez has been a good swing-man throughout his career. He tends to get over exposed if in the rotation for too long. He’s had a couple bad outings in a row now, allowing five runs in each of his last two games, combining for 9.1 innings of work.
Betting Trends
Heading into Sunday, the Braves and Angels were separated by three total runs when comparing total runs scored in the month of May.
The Angels got to that point with 11 more homers while the Braves have been the better overall hitting team this month with a .271 average compared to .237. The thing about the home run, however, is it takes just one to put a run on the board.
As of Sunday, these two teams have also committed the same number of errors and have similar records. The argument can be made the they are each other’s equivalent in the opposite league.
If we’re looking for a differentiator, that may be the bullpen. The Angels’ pen has a better ERA by a half run, but even that’s difficult to hang your hat on as it’s Bud Norris succeeding in the closer’s role right now in Anaheim with other has-beens and journeymen picking up the slack like Yusmeiro Petit and David Hernandez.
Mike Trout Watch
Things could get ugly for the Angels fast. Trout left Sunday’s game after jamming his hand on a head-first slide and could see time on the DL with a thumb sprain.
Trout missed a couple games earlier this season, but if he does go on the DL, it’ll be the first time in his young career.
Trout is the unquestioned best player in baseball. He’s single-handedly carried this team on offense while providing a pretty good defense as well.
Without Trout, this team essentially turns into an Albert Pujols home run watch. With the legendary slugger narrowing in on 600 for his career, it’s a big deal, but the 37-year old is a shell of his former self and has a OPS+ of 87.
Trout is this offense. He has a mind-boggling .342/.463/.752 slash line and is probably the leader for the MVP again even on a team flirting with .500.
The Braves know what it’s like to try and be relevant with an MVP caliber player out. Freddie Freeman was having a monster year, but hasn’t played since May 17.
Since then the Braves are 4-5 which is a bit surprising. Matt Adams came over from the Cardinals and didn’t miss a beat.
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go.
Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!
