Toronto Blue Jays at Los Angeles Angels Betting Preview – 8/11

Aug 11, 2021

betting preview, free betting preview, best betting preview

Game: Toronto Blue Jays at Los Angeles Angels

Time: 9:38 p.m. ET

Starting Pitchers: Alek Manoah vs. Dylan Bundy

Odds: Blue Jays -180, Angels +170

There is a good reason why the Toronto Blue Jays are favored over the Los Angeles Angels tonight. The Blue Jays powerful lineup is one of the top-scoring teams in the majors. That lineup will face LA pitcher Dylan Bundy, who has struggled this season. While Bundy tries to slow down the team with the best batting average in baseball, Toronto will start rookie Alek Manoah, one of the best young pitchers in baseball.

In 10 starts this season, Manoah is 4-1 with a team-best 2.58 ERA and WHIP of 1.01. In his last start, Manaoh held Boston to two earned runs in five innings and the Blue Jays went on to win 12-4. In those 10 starts, Toronto is 7-3 overall. One of the big reasons for Manoah’s success is that he holds opponents to a .180 batting average. Another is his 10.3 strikeouts per nine innings. Manoah just doesn’t allow a lot of baserunners.

Now, Manoah will face a pretty strong Angels lineup that continues to be without three-time AL MVP Mike Trout. The Angels hit .252 overall which is sixth in MLB. LA is led by another MVP candidate in two-way player Shohei Ohtani. The Angels DH is batting .266 with an MLB-best 37 homers. First baseman Jared Walsh has 22 homers, but the Angels just lost 3B Anthony Rendon for the season.

Toronto will go up against LA’s Dylan Bundy. The Angels right-hander is the opposite of Manoah. Bundy is just 2-8 on the season and, at one point, was removed from the starting rotation and relegated to the bullpen.

He has returned, but he still struggles as his 6.18 ERA indicates. Bundy did do well in his last start going six innings without allowing a run and striking out six. The Angels did win, but the victory was over Texas, the worst team in the AL West.

The Angels are 3-2 against Toronto this season. That includes a split of yesterday’s doubleheader. LA won the first game 6-3 and the Blue Jays took the second 4-0. Bundy will have his hands full with Toronto which has MLB’s best batting average (.266) as well as the most runs per game (5.39).

Right behind Ohtani in the home run race is Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr who has 35 this season. Guerrero bats .314 and OF Teoscar Hernandez, who went 4-for-7 in yesterday’s doubleheader, is hitting .304. Hernandez (17) is also one of seven Blue Jays that has double-digit homers. SS Marcus Semien (.277) has 26 dingers.

While Bundy is likely to struggle against Toronto, it will only get worse when the Blue Jays get to the Angels bullpen. LA ranks 21st in bullpen ERA at 4.62. The Angels relievers are one of the reasons why the Over hits 55 percent of the time in LA games.

That number jumps to 65 percent when the Angels play at home. Tonight’s total is 9.5. In addition to yesterday’s 6-3 score, the two teams have had games of 7-5 and 15-1 this season and five of the last seven meetings have gone Over.