The Los Angeles Angels will look to split a four-game set versus the Oakland A's at home Sunday afternoon and gain some ground on the A’s, who are six games up on them for the final Wild Card spot.
Sunday’s meeting will showcase a pair of former first-round picks as 22-year-old Reid Detmers will be making his MLB debut for the Halos while the A’s will counter with Daulton Jefferies, who will be making just his second MLB start and first since 2020.
Los Angeles opened as -120 MLB betting favorites with the total set at 10, hitting 9.5 on some books.
Here are our free picks and predictions for the A's vs. Angels for Sunday, August 1, with first pitch set at 4:07 p.m. ET.
A's vs Angels game info
• Location: Angel Stadium, Anaheim, CA
• Date: Sunday, August 1, 2021
• Time: 4:07 p.m. ET
• TV: Bally Sports West, NBCSCA
A's vs Angels odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
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A's vs Angels betting preview
Starting pitchers
Daulton Jefferies (0-0, -.-- ERA): Jefferies almost cracked the opening day roster thanks to some fine pitching in the spring, but the right-hander has underwhelmed in Triple-A this season posting a 5.19 ERA and less than a strikeout per inning. He has great command, with just nine walks over 59 innings, but opponents have had no problem hitting him and have collected 67 hits (including 12 home runs) in Las Vegas.
Reid Detmers (0-0, -.-- ERA): The 22-year-old southpaw was taken with the 10th-overall pick in the 2020 draft and has cruised across the minors. He posted 97 strikeouts in 54 innings in Double-A and made just one start — nine K’s in six scoreless innings — at Triple-A. He has a 106:18 K/BB ratio but has given up 10 homers in 60 minor-league innings.
Weather
Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our MLB weather info.
Key injuries
A's: Chad Pinder 2B (Out).
Angels: Anthony Rendon 3B (Out), Mike Trout OF (Out).
Find our latest MLB injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Under is 5-0 in the last five meetings. Find more MLB betting trends for A's vs. Angels.
Moneyline pick
The Angels blanked the A’s yesterday afternoon, walking away with a 1-0 win after holding the Oakland bats to just six hits. In total, the A's have recorded just six runs over the series’ first three games but have managed a pair of wins after blanking the Angels in the first two contests, 4-0 and 2-0. Neither offense is feeling it but with lefty prospect Reid Detmers making his MLB debut, the A’s could continue to struggle on Sunday.
Detmers was the 10th-overall pick just two years ago and catapulted through the minors in his first year in affiliated ball. He needed only one stop in Triple-A before the Angels were comfortable bringing him up, as his strikeout potential is massive and he has only given up 48 hits in 60 innings this year.
His fastball now sits in the mid-90s and he has one of the better breaking balls in the minor leagues. There is not a lot of tape on Detmers, which only works in his, and the Angels, favor.
Los Angeles isn’t giving us much confidence in the run support column either, as the Halos are 1 for 14 with RISP in the series, but they should be able to cross a couple of runs across the plate against a young pitcher with a 5.19 ERA in Triple-A. Jefferies has plenty of red flags and even this slumping Halos squad should string some solid at-bats against a pitcher with contact issues.
The Athletics have dominated this season series, taking 12 of the last 17 meetings, but it’s because of that success that we are getting a great price on the better pitcher at -120.
PREDICTION: Los Angeles (-120)
Over/Under pick
If you’re a fan of Overs, this series is not for you. The Under is a perfect 3-0... and it hasn’t even been close: Only seven total runs have been scored over the three games and a shutout has been recorded in all three matches.
Both offenses have been ice cold under the warm California sun. Oakland is hitting .165 in the series and is 2 for 15 with RISP. Not to be outdone, the Angels — who have been shut out twice — are hitting .161 over the three games versus the A’s and, as mentioned above, are just 1 for 14 with RISP. Trusting these offenses to total 11 runs is a lot to ask.
Detmers threw 91 pitches in his latest start in Triple-A a week ago, so he should be good to go deep if he is on. On the other side, Jefferies has gotten his pitch count up to 91 of late but if he faults early, as he did in his MLB Debut last season, look for the A’s to hit the pen, which has allowed just one hit in the series over 5 2-3 innings of work.
10 is a big number for these two struggling offenses and we love the Under here.
PREDICTION: Under 10 (-120)
A's vs Angels betting card
- Los Angeles ML (-120)
- Under 10 (-120)
Picks made on 8/1/2021 at 9:30 a.m. ET
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