Oakland at LA Angels
Wednesday, May 25th, 10:05 PM
(matchup)
After snapping their six game losing streak with a huge underdog win, the Oakland A’s will look to make it two in a row over division rival Los Angeles Wednesday night in the rubber match of a four-game set. Oddsmakers have the money line just about even as we should have a tremendous pitcher’s duel between the A’s Trevor Cahill (6-1, 1.79 ERA) vs. Ervin Santana (2-4, 4.18 ERA).
Oakland was a huge +180 dog in last night’s 6-1 win, which snapped a six-game losing streak that saw the club get outscored 25-7. They had scored one run or less in five of those losses, but David DeJesus had the third multi-homer game of his career and starter Guillermo Moscoso threw six scoreless innings in his MLB debut last night.
Tonight’s odds are far more even. After opening up as a slight underdog, the A’s are now favored on the betting line in most shops. Last night marked the first time in seven head to head meetings this season between these AL West rivals that the road team was victorious.
Perhaps a big reason why the public has gotten down early on Oakland here is starter Trevor Cahill, who is 6-1 with a 1.79 ERA in 10 starts. He did not receive a decision in his previous outing, despite throwing a one-hitter over six innings. The A’s lost that game 2-1 to the San Francisco Giants. Cahill has always pitched well against the Angels with a 6-1 team start record and 1.81 ERA. In his last three outings, he’s allowed just one earned run in 21 innings of work.
Don’t let Ervin Santana’s 2011 pitching statistics fool you. The righty is coming off a complete game four-hitter against the Atlanta Braves last Friday and owns a 14-5 team start record vs. the A’s with a 2.03 ERA. Also, the Angels are 24-9 at home when hosting AL West opponents and 11-3 off a division loss as a favorite.
The A’s are 12th in the American League in team batting average at .236. They have gone Under in 13 of 17 road games vs. righties this season.
