Have the Los Angeles Angels finally figured it out? The team’s 19-11 start is giving hope to Halos' fans everywhere that they can return to the postseason for the first time since 2014.
However, this week’s series will be an interesting test to see how good they are as they welcome the two-time defending American League East champions the Tampa Bay Rays.
Tampa Bay enters this series having won nine of its last 12 while L.A. has won four of five. So, who has the baseball betting edge tonight? Find out in our free MLB betting picks and predictions for Rays vs. Angels on Monday, May 9.
Rays vs Angels odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
The Angels opened this AL matchup as -120 home favorites and have seen the early money, moving the line to roughly -135 depending on the sportsbook. The total hit the board at 7.5 and while that’s where the number remains as of Monday afternoon, it has been juiced to the Over.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right up until first pitch and be sure to check out the full MLB odds before placing your bets.
Rays vs Angels predictions
Picks made on 5/9/2022 at 4:00 p.m. ET.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.
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Rays vs Angels game info
• Location: Angel Stadium, Los Angeles, CA
• Date: Monday, May 9, 2022
• First pitch: 9:38 p.m. ET
• TV: Bally Sports West
Rays vs Angels betting preview
Starting pitchers
Jeffery Springs (1-0, 0.69 ERA): Springs has been fantastic for the Rays this season. Mostly working out of the bullpen, the lefty has allowed just one run on seven hits while striking out 14 in 13 innings of work. This will be Springs' second start on the year.
Noah Syndergaard (2-1, 2.63 ERA): Syndergaard has looked solid in his first month with the Angels after missing most of the last two seasons due to injury, and hasn’t allowed more than three earned runs in each of his first four starts. However, he hasn’t been striking out many batters with just 14 in 24 innings pitched.
Weather
Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our MLB weather info.
Key injuries
Rays: No key injuries to report.
Angels: David Fletcher SS (Out), Kurt Suzuki C (Out), Archie Bradley RP (Out), Austin Warren RP (Out).
Find our latest MLB injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Rays are 8-1 in their last nine road games. Find more MLB betting trends for Rays vs. Angels
Rays vs Angels picks and predictions
Our side and total predictions are based upon our analysis of the line and total in this game. Our best bet is our favorite pick across all markets.
Moneyline analysis
Angels fans are getting titillated by the idea of postseason baseball featuring both Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani thanks to a 19-11 start to the season.
The offense led by the two superstars has been outstanding, ranking seventh in batting average, second in OPS, and second in home runs. However, the offense hasn’t usually been the problem for the Halos over the past few seasons.
So, has the pitching finally caught up to the hitting? Well, the pitching staff has a 3.55 ERA (good for 13th in MLB) while ranking seventh in WHIP and eighth in opponent batting average. Noah Syndergaard has been a big part of that.
The big righty has been solid, pitching to an expected ERA of 3.10 while opponents have a .239 expected batting average when facing him. The Rays will present his toughest task of the season.
Tampa Bay continues to do what it does best and win baseball games. The Rays enter this matchup having won nine of their last 12 games to climb within two games of the Yankees for the first spot in the AL East.
Of course, they’ve done it with their style of impressive pitching, but the offense is throwing its weight around this season as well. They rank sixth in batting average and eighth in OPS heading into this game.
Tampa will counter Syndergaard with Springs, who will be used as an opener. That means a bullpen night and that’s never a bad thing when you’re the Rays. Their relievers rank fifth in ERA and limit opponents to a .205 batting average.
This is a very even matchup, so we’ll side with the road underdog that is coming into this game playing very well.
Prediction: Rays (+116 at FanDuel)
Over/Under analysis
While this game should feature some solid pitching performances, it won’t be enough to keep two of the American League’s best offenses below this total of 7.5.
For starters, L.A. and Tampa Bay rank fifth and eighth in scoring — plating 4.63 and 4.48 runs per game respectively — and both have been better than that recently. The Rays have upped their scoring average to 5.71 runs per game over their last seven games while the Angels have plated 5.8 per contest over their last five.
On top of that, these teams just excel at making contact. Neither of them swing at a lot of bad pitches as both rank in the Top 10 in chase rate, while at the same time ranking in the Top 4 in weighted on-base average contact percentage. This means how often hitters put the ball into play.
When you consider how these lineups are playing and the fact that neither team’s pitching staff racks up a ton of strikeouts, you can expect enough balls in play tonight to send this one Over the number.
Prediction: Over 7.5 (-115 at DraftKings)
Best bet
The Over looks like a solid bet tonight and that’s because of the two offenses involved. And while this game features the likes of Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, and Wander Franco, no one is entering this matchup hotter than Rays’ outfielder Manuel Margot.
Margot is in the middle of an eight-game hitting streak where he is hitting a ridiculous .464 with a 1.429 OPS — which includes him whacking a dinger in three straight games.
While we’re not backing him to hit his fourth straight long ball, getting the Over on his 1.5 total bases at +135 looks like tremendous value. He’s gone Over that number in six of those eight games and the right hander is hitting an impressive .307 when facing righty pitching this season.
Pick: Manuel Margot Over 1.5 total bases (+135 at FanDuel)
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