ODDS ANALYSIS
Visits to Anaheim have not been good to the Tigers in the past and a trip there with a struggling offense and decimated pitching staff couldn’t come at a worse time. Despite scoring four runs in three games at Oakland, the Tigers still took the final two in that set playing below the total in all three with the under going 8-3-1 in their last 12 road tilts. The Tigers have been better on the road all season up 2.65 units over their last six away contests.
Offensive breakdowns have been costly for the Angels, particularly over a 1-4 stretch that saw them dip back below .500. Heck, even Mike Trout isn’t immune from the struggles. The Halos have been mediocre through the first quarter of the season going 11-11 at home following two straight losses to the Padres. They are down 4.18 units for the season with the under at 13-9.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Detroit’s Shane Greene (4-3, 4.27 ERA) took a shutout into the sixth inning and ended up allowing four runs on eight hits in his last start, a loss at Oakland Monday. Greene has been solid with the exception of three starts where he gave up 20 runs in 11 innings over consecutive outings.
Greene makes his 11th start of the season and 15th career in his first appearance against the Angels.
After a rough start to the season Jered Weaver (3-4, 4.06 ERA) has turned things around recently with four strong starts in a row – the latest a 6.2 inning, one-run, seven-strikeout performance against the Padres on Monday. He’s 3-0 with a 1.50 ERA in that span.
Weaver allowed just one run on three hits in his last outing against Detroit and is 4-4 with a 4.64 ERA in 11 career starts.
QUOTE TO NOTE
“I think the group of guys here that we have, if you look at the potential from last year there is a lot of improvement that can be tapped into on the offensive side. We’re not going to be as good as we were last year, but we shouldn’t be as bad as we are right now.” – Angels manager Mike Scioscia
LIVE BETTING or SITUATIONAL BETTING
The Angels’ hitters haven’t left their pitchers much room for error this season. Los Angeles enters the weekend 26th in the majors in runs per game, 29th in batting average and 30th in OPS, all disturbing numbers for a team with high hopes. Mike Trout and Kole Calhoun are the only consistent contributors. A low average isn’t all bad if you can get hits when it counts, mainly with runners on base, but that too has been problematic for the Halos, who went 1 for 9 in such situations losing the final two games to San Diego. The Angels can get well against Shane Greene, who has a .294 batting average against on the road.
PROP TALK
There will be some excitement in this series that features the past three AL MVP winners. LA’s Mike Trout took the honor last year, ending Miguel Cabrera’s two-year hold on the title, and both are in the prime of their careers having big years once again. Though both teams have stumbled offensively, both players are doing what they do best to keep their clubs in the hunt. Trout has all the tools and is the best all-around player in the game. He had a quiet series against San Diego with just three hits in 12 at-bats and no RBIs so expect him to get going against the Tigers.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
With his fastball velocity at an all-time low, Angels starter Jered Weaver had to reinvent himself after a rough patch at the start of the season. Weaver made some tweaks to his delivery after surrendering 10 hits and five runs to the Giants on May 3 and followed with a six-hit shutout of the Astros in his next outing. The success has continued with the Halos winning each of his next four outings.
Weaver gets a Tigers team that has gone into a slumber after producing just four runs in a three-game series at Oakland. Detroit was able to take two of three from the A’s after patching together a group of six pitchers Wednesday to get the series win. The under looks like the smart play in this one with both teams scuffling to score runs.
Los Angeles 4, Detroit 2
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 Detroit Tigers versus the Los Angeles Angels will commence Saturday, May 30, 2015, at 10:05 p.m. ET at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. You can watch the contest live on the MLB Network.
