Toronto Blue Jays at Los Angeles Angels Betting Preview/Player Prop
11 August 2021
Toronto has had a great month of August up to this point, and the Blue Jays are now right back in the playoff race in the American League. The Blue Jays have improved their record to 61-51 and are just 2.5 games out of the second Wild Card spot.
Los Angeles comes into this game with a record of just 57-57, and they have been right around the .500 mark all season long. The Angels are not going to factor into the playoff race unless they have a historically great final six weeks.
The Toronto Blue Jays are the betting favorites at -184 on Wednesday night.
Blue Jays Getting Some Pitching
The Toronto Blue Jays are known to have a great offense, but it has been the pitching that has stepped up of late. Toronto currently has a team ERA of just 3.85, and they have allowed just two or fewer runs in three of their last five games.
Alek Manoah is set to start for Toronto on Wednesday night, and he has gone 4-1 with a 2.58 ERA this season. Manoah has a chance to set the tone and take some pressure off of a slumping offense.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. leads the team with 35 home runs and 88 RBIs, but he doesn’t always get a ton of help. This offense can score runs in a hurry, but they are also a very streaky offensive team.
Angels Need More Offense
The Angels have been playing much of the season without Mike Trout, and this team has struggled to score at times. Los Angeles is averaging just three runs per game in their last five contests, and that puts too much pressure on the pitching.
Shohei Ohtani hasn’t stopped hitting all season, and he leads the team with 37 home runs and 82 RBIs. Third baseman David Fletcher has chipped in this season with a team-leading .305 batting average.
Dylan Bundy is set to take the ball for Los Angeles, and he is just 2-8 with a 6.14 ERA this season. Pitching is one area that has struggled for the Angels all season, but things have improved of late.
Angels Pick Up Impressive Win
Dylan Bundy has really struggled this season for the Angels, but he is also facing a slumping Toronto lineup. This is a perfect opportunity for Bundy to put together a great performance and start to turn his season around by delivering a great performance.
Toronto is going to have to get their offense figured out again soon if they are going to stay in the race. There are some players that appear to be fatigued with a long trip out West, and this is going to be a challenge.
The Angels are playing better than their record, and they come away with another win in this matchup. Bet the Los Angeles Angels money line as they pick up their second win of the series against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Player Prop
David Fletcher (-270) Over 0.5 Hits
The Angels put a lot of confidence in Fletcher when they gave him a 5-year, $26 million extension before the beginning of the season. And the second baseman has rewarded them with a .305 batting average that ranks 11th in all of baseball, while leading the American League in hits with 134.
Earlier this season, he pieced together a 26-game hitting streak that was just two games shy of tying the Angels’ all-time record set by Garrett Anderson back in 1998. Entering the second game of yesterday’s doubleheader with the Blue Jays, he had another 7-game hitting streak going.
So it is noteworthy that Fletcher ended up going 0-for-3 in the 7-inning nightcap. That’s just the second time he’s going hitless in the month of August. The last time on August 2, he bounced back with a two-hit performance against the Rangers the next day.
We’ll take Fletcher (-270) to have a similar bounce back today and pick up at least one hit against the Blue Jays.
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