MLB Betting Previews Los Angeles Angels vs Oakland Athletics

It’s the weekend and there’s no better way to celebrate than with a great division rivalry between two great baseball teams. The Los Angeles Angels will be heading to Oakland Coliseum for the first of a three-game series. Will the Angels come out with flying colors or will the Athletics prevail on their field? Keep reading for the full game preview.

Los Angeles Angels vs Oakland Athletics

• Time: Friday, June 17, 2016 9:35 PM ET
• Place: O.co Coliseum

Betting Odds

• Angels -138
• Athletics +128
• Total: 8

Bet on the Angels - Matt Shoemaker (r)

Matt Shoemaker is taking the mound tonight for the Angels and this should give them a fairly easy win. Shoemaker has steadily improved, turning himself into one of the best pitchers in the league right now. Over 2016, the 26-year old has only given up eights runs, striking out an incredible 48 batters in five starts.

Regardless of how well Shoemaker is playing however, the Angels have to get things going on offense. Los Angeles is at +4000 to win the American League and have gone 2-3 in the last five games, which means they need to score runs to win games. It’ll be up to Yunel Escobar and Mike Trout to get things in order in this arena.

Escobar leads the Angels in batting (.310) and hits, while Trout has team-highs of 13 homers, 44 runs batted in and a .415 OBP. He’s also gone 9-of-27 with three doubles, three RBIs and one homer in his last eight games.

Bet on the Athletics - Kendall Graveman (r)

The A’s haven’t really fared well this month, losing 10 of their last 13 games, including their last three straight.

Kendall Graveman will take the mound tonight, hoping to turn things around. Last weekend, Graveman started well against the Reds, managing four innings of one-run ball with five K’s despite getting the no-decision. Against the Angels he’s 0-1 with a 2.12 ERA, a 1.24 WHIP and a .250 opponents’ batting average throughout three career starts in this matchup.

As for the A’s offense, it’ll be up to Danny Valencia and Billy Burns to get things going. Valencia’s been solid in June, putting up a triple-slash line of .333/.395/.564 and is batting .330 at Oakland Coliseum this season. As for Burns, he’s 4-of-13 in his last three games and is 3-for-9 lifetime against Matt Shoemaker.

Betting Trends

• LA Angels is 1-8 ATS in its last 9 games
• LA Angels is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games
• The total has gone OVER in 5 of LA Angels' last 6 games
• The total has gone OVER in 5 of Oakland's last 7 games when playing LA Angels
• Oakland is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against LA Angels
• The total has gone OVER in 15 of Oakland's last 22 games when playing at home against LA Angels

Game Predictions: Angels win 5-1 with another great Shoemaker performance.