Game: Boston Red Sox @ Los Angeles Angels
Time: 9:38 p.m. ET
Odds: Red Sox +110, Angels -130
Total: 8
As good as the Los Angeles Angels are they have somehow managed to lose 14 games in a row. Manager Joe Maddon was fired after the 12th straight loss and interim manager Phil Nevin is left to try and pick up the pieces. The Angels will host Boston tonight and will put Shohei Ohtani on the mound. Usually, that’s a good thing, but lately, it has not.
Ohtani is now 3-4 and his ERA has climbed to 3.99. The Angels have lost each of his last four starts. Ohtani’s last two starts were awful. He pitched a total of nine innings and allowed nine earned runs. He lasted just three innings in his last start, a 6-1 loss to the New York Yankees. Ohtani has been allowing a lot of hard contact and that isn’t good news against a pretty hot Red Sox team. Ohtani has been averaging roughly 16 to 25 pitches per inning lately. That could become an issue tonight.
The Red Sox are first in the majors in doubles and RBIs over the last 15 days. They have won their last seven straight games. That includes a series sweep of Oakland and three of the first four in this series against the Angels. Boston has also won its last five games on the road and the Red Sox are 9-3 SU in their last 12 visits to the Angels.
Boston will start Nick Pivetta who has quietly become the ace of the Red Sox staff. For the season, Pivetta is 5-4 with a 3.50 ERA, but it’s his performance over his last six starts that has been impressive. PIvetta’s ERA in those six starts is 1.32 and he has beaten the likes of the White Sox, Rangers, and Astros. Boston has won Pivetta’s last five starts in a row. That includes a complete game 5-1 win over Houston. In his last two starts, Pivetta has pitched 13 innings, allowed one earned run, and struck out 12.
As mentioned, the Angels are in the midst of a 14-game losing streak. They have lost eight straight at home. The total has gone Over in four of the Angels’ last six games. For the season, the Angels’ O/U record is 29-25-4. Opponents have scored six runs in each of Ohtani’s last three starts. The Angels pitcher has allowed eight home runs in his nine starts this season.
The Over is 7-3 in Boston’s last 10 games against an AL West opponent. Pivetta has received plenty of support in his last six starts. The average run total in those six games is 9.6. Boston beat Oakland 8-0, Baltimore 12-2, and the White Sox 16-3 in Pivetta’s last three starts.
Mike Trout, who has 14 homers this season, didn’t play last night due to a groin issue. He is listed as questionable for tonight. Anthony Rendon and Taylor Ward are also on the 10-day injured list.