Betting Matchup Preview
Game Details
- Who: Seattle Mariners at Los Angeles Angels
- When: Thursday, August 3
- Time: 9:38 p.m. ET / 6:38 p.m. PT
- Where: Angel Stadium (Anaheim, California)
Betting Odds Summary
- Moneyline: Mariners +130, Angels -155
- Runline: Mariners +1.5 (-155), Angels -1.5 (+130)
- Total: Over/Under 8 Runs (-120/+100)
Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook. Subject to change.
Los Angeles Angels megastar Shohei Ohtani gets back on the mound against the Seattle Mariners for the first time since almost throwing a no-hitter last Thursday. But, after a string of uncharacteristically bad starts, which version of Ohtani will show up against the M’s?
Ohtani has been a frustratingly difficult player to pin down regarding when and where he pitches well. Just when he looked like he may be breaking down and rumors of a trade swirled, Shotime went out and threw a one-hitter in his first career complete game, matching his season-high with 111 pitches.
The AL MVP frontrunner often exceeds 100 pitches in a game, so this should be no big deal. However, a worrying trend emerges if we look back at his previous 100-pitch games.
The quick and dirty breakdown is that Ohtani had some of his worst games of the season in starts following a 100-pitch outing. In Shotime’s last five starts after throwing 102 pitches or more, he allowed an average of 4.6 runs.
Even if we consider the 100-pitch trend, it’s hard to deny that something looked different about Ohtani last week. Maybe knowing he wouldn’t be traded at the deadline released some stress or tension.
Seattle presents a prime matchup for Ohtani to continue his upswing on the mound. The sport’s unicorn has dominated the M’s since he came to the league, as they’re hitting a paltry .173 in 81 career at-bats against him. J.P. Crawford has the only home run of the bunch, while Ty France has the only other extra-base hit.
Seattle’s biggest bat, Julio Rodriguez, is 0-for-10 against Ohtani with five strikeouts, while Teoscar Hernandez is 1-for-6.
On the Mariners’ side of this pitching matchup, Bryan Woo is a far less exciting option than Ohtani. Seattle is 0-4 in his previous four starts, with Woo’s ERA rising from 4.08 to 4.96 in that time.
Despite Woo’s poor results, we must acknowledge that the Mariners are 7-2 against the spread (ATS) in his last nine starts, thanks to generous run support and solid bullpen play.
In one start against the Angels this season, Woo pitched 4 ⅔ innings of four-hit ball with seven strikeouts and two earned runs. His only blemish in that game was a two-run shot by Ohtani. Overall, the Halos are hitting a robust .300 against Woo with an OPS of 1.064.
Regarding betting this game ATS, note that the Mariners are 8-2 in their last 10 road games with a profitable return on investment (ROI) of 52.57%.
Best Bet: Mariners vs. Angels
Ohtani has been a tough starter to bet on this season, but after his performance against the Detroit Tigers last week, we see no reason to go against momentum.
Yes, Ohtani does struggle the next start after throwing 100 pitches, but last week’s one-hitter was something special. Ohtani and the Angels continue to win games despite missing Mike Trout and are still in the Wild Card hunt, showing plenty of fight.
With L.A. getting -155 odds on the moneyline to win straight up, our best bet for Thursday’s series opener is on the Angels to defeat their AL West rivals.
Mariners vs. Angels Same-Game Parlay
This wager allows you to combine two or more bets from the same event into a single play. The advantage? The odds for the combined bet are higher than betting all plays separately.
For more information, check out our same-game parlay overview.
Here’s the trio of MLB prop bets we chose for the Mariners vs. Angels:
- Cal Raleigh Over 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBI (+110)
- J.P. Crawford Over 0.5 Total Bases (-175)
- Shohei Ohtani to Record a Win (+130)
After combining these three bets into a same-game parlay, the odds jump to +659. That would be good for a $659 profit on a $100 winning bet.
The first leg of our same-game parlay for the Mariners-Angels games highlights one of the hottest hitters in this matchup. Seattle’s Cal Raleigh is one of the best hitting catchers in baseball, especially after launching five home runs in his last 10 games with a .811 slugging percentage. He’s also racked up 31 combined hits, runs and RBIs during that span.
Another surging Mariner, J.P. Crawford, takes the second spot on our SGP after a scorching month at the plate. In July, Crawford slashed .340/.443/.553 while hitting safely in 21 of 25 games. We only need a hit from him (any kind will do) to cash his total bases leg.
As for Ohtani, we’re back on his side after his magnificent performance last week and trust him to pick up his third straight win.
Photo by Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images
