The road warriors known as the Detroit Tigers (28-20 SU, +5.46 Units) will continue their West Coast road trip on Sunday against the Los Angeles Angels (23-24 SU, -4.18 Units) seeking to potentially get above the .667 mark for the season away from home.
PITCHING MATCHUP
David Price is only 4-1 on the season, but his 2.97 ERA probably suggests that he should be in better shape.
The lefty has had some odd advanced stats which tell two different stories. An FIP of 3.30 promotes having worse stats, but batters aren't going to hit .290 against Price this season in terms of balls put in play. A 7.70 K/9 probably isn't going to stay that low forever considering the fact that this is a man who routinely posts 9.00+ K/9s in his career.
Matt Shoemaker is coming off of a fantastic start earlier this week against Padres in which he allowed just four hits in seven scoreless innings. Still, he has a history of getting knocked around to the tune of a 5.44 ERA, and he is a suspect righty by all accounts.
Even though Shoemaker went 16-4 last season, he was largely a very lucky pitcher for his efforts. Things will probably regulate themselves this year, and that 3-4 record is probably a fair mark all things considered.
ADVANCED STATS
If there's one fear that we have about the Tigers in live betting, it's that there is no way they are going to keep up with a BABIP as a team of .332.
However, we do foresee Detroit being amongst the best hitting teams in the league. Miguel Cabrera might be at the tail end of his career, but he still makes a ton of good contact with the baseball, and men like Jose Iglesias (assuming that he is back in the lineup by Sunday thanks to a knee problem), Anthony Gose, Yoenis Cespedes and Ian Kinsler are all fantastic hitters.
There aren't many free outs in this lineup, and Shoemaker is going to learn that the hard way if he ends up allowing too much contact.
TALKING BULLPENS
There's a whole lot to like about the LA bullpen. The team has a ton of flamethrowers in its back end, and being able to trot out there Joe Smith and Huston Street to end games is a big benefit.
That said, the one constant that virtually all of these pitchers have for the Halos is that they don't really keep the ball on the ground that much. This can be a boom or bust prospect for sure. Heavy hitters tend to be prone to strikeouts quite a bit, but when they make contact with the baseball, it can go quite a long ways.
If the Tigers are playing from behind in this game, going to the well with them against the LA bullpen might be a good idea. That 38.5 percent ground ball rate for the Angels relievers is the worst mark in the game, and there are plenty of big boppers in that Detroit lineup which can take 61.5 percent of the balls they hit and deposit them into the bleachers at the Big A.
The baseball betting odds for this game will first be available at BookMaker Sportsbook. BookMaker is going to have multiple betting options available for this baseball matchup. Live wagering during commercials offers and adjusted moneyline, individual inning run totals and next hitter results. Log in, and start gambling during the game now!
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