The Los Angeles Angels will host the Baltimore Orioles this weekend for a four-game series that kicks off on Thursday night. Most people believe that the Angels are out of the playoff race in the American League, but a four-game sweep over the lowly Orioles could make things interesting in Los Angeles. Baltimore is playing a lot of young players at the moment, and they are just waiting for this season to come to an end. This should be another great opportunity for the Angels to do some damage.
Los Angeles comes into this game having won four straight games, including a brief two-game sweep over the Dodgers. The Angels have improved their record to 54-49 on the season but are still five games out of the second Wild Card spot in the American League. Baltimore is just 32-69 on the season and is 17-33 away from home. The Orioles could finish the season with the worst record in the American League again in 2019. The Los Angeles Angels are -148 over the Baltimore Orioles in the series opener.
Baltimore Struggles to Score Runs
The Baltimore Orioles are one of the lowest-scoring teams in the Major Leagues, and that formula just won’t get the job done in the American League East. Baltimore has scored just 428 runs this season and is hitting just .242 as a team. The Orioles are going through a long and slow rebuild, and their offense doesn’t exactly scare any opposing pitchers.
Renato Nunez and Hanser Alberto are two very intriguing young pieces on the Baltimore roster and give the team something to build around. Nunez is leading the team with 24 home runs and 57 runs batted in this season. Second baseman Alberto is leading the team with a .306 batting average and gives the Orioles a weapon at the top of their lineup.
Hitting isn’t the only area where the Orioles struggle, as their pitching staff hasn’t been much better. The Orioles sport a team earned run average of 5.56, and teams have feasted on their young starting rotation. Rookie Tom Eshelman will be on the mound on Thursday night, making just his fourth career start. The young right-hander is 0-2 with a whopping 6.91 earned run average so far in his young career. The Orioles will be dealing with a red-hot Angels lineup this weekend.
Trout Having Another Monster Season
Mike Trout is widely regarded as the best player in baseball, and he is proving that once again in 2019. Trout has been red-hot since the death of his friend and Angels pitcher, Tyler Skaggs. The former AL Most Valuable Player is hitting .296 with 33 home runs and 81 runs batted in and will likely be the MVP again this season. Outfielder Kole Calhoun has chipped in with 23 long balls this season, and the Angels have been scoring plenty of runs of late. Los Angeles should have another big weekend at the plate against a bad Orioles pitching staff.
Rookie Jose Suarez will be on the mound for the Angels in the series opener, and he is looking to turn things around. The left-hander will be making just his eighth career start in this game and hasn’t won a game since June 15. Suarez is 2-1 on the season but sports a hefty 5.51 earned run average. Facing the Orioles should be just the ticket to get back on track.
Angels Win Series Opener
The Angels are coming into this series with a ton of momentum, and that momentum is going to carry them through all weekend long. Baltimore has been playing better of late, but this is still a very bad baseball team. The Angels are going to win the series opener on Thursday night, and will likely win at least three games this weekend. Bet the Los Angeles Angels -148 over the Baltimore Orioles.