Bettors can expect some more offensive fireworks from both sides in the final game of this short two-game series in the Bronx.
Los Angeles Angels at New York Yankees
Los Angeles started its brief road trip to New York and Texas with an impressive 10-2 victory over the Yankees in the Bronx. It’s part of a stretch that has the club playing three teams with a combined record of 166-112 when adding a series with Boston when they return home. The team banged out 14 hits on Tuesday night and is batting a combined .300 against the Yankees over the past five seasons, their highest average against any AL club. In fact, the team is 54-44 against New York during the Mike Scioscia era, dating back to 2000. The Angels have a 4-3 season series lead over the Yankees, but the team has managed to win just three of their last 13 games in New York. The bullpen has been much improved this month, posting a 2.67 ERA in July, after struggling to post a 4.97 ERA the month prior. Los Angeles continues to dominate teams during the day, posting a 18-13 mark this season (+510) and 86-39 record the last three years (+4,750).
Angels starting pitcher Joel Pineiro is 10-6 with a 3.95 ERA in 19 starts this season (+840) and is coming into this start on a seven-game winning streak. In fact, Los Angeles has won his last eight starts overall, outscoring opponents by a 57-20 margin. He has a losing 3-4 record and 6.39 ERA in eight road starts, allowing 64 hits in 49.1 innings for a .309 batting average against. In 18 career outings (10 starts) versus the Bronx Bombers, Pineiro is 3-4 with a 3.66 ERA. He picked up a 5-3 victory at Yankee Stadium in his second start of the year back on April 14, giving up just a single run and not walking a batter in seven innings.
New York stands an even 2-2 on its current nine-game, 10-day home stand, after taking two of three from the Tampa Bay Rays over the past weekend before dropping the series opener against the Angels. The Yankees own the best record in baseball at 58-34 (+570) and lead the AL East by 2.5 games. It’s the team’s best record after 92 games since the 2004 season. The club is 15-8 versus AL West opponents this season and have tallied an impressive 23-12 daytime record (+520). The Yankees have bounced back nicely in four previous games after allowing 10 or more runs, producing a 3-1 record (+160) and the total going over in every contest. The team is 30-15 at home this season, giving them the second-best record in the AL and fourth-best in the majors.
Yankees starting pitcher Javier Vazquez is an even 7-7 with a 4.45 ERA in 17 appearances (16 starts) this year (-600), with the team alternating wins and losses over his last six outings. He failed to pick up a decision in his last start despite tossing seven shutout innings and striking out six in a 4-1 road loss to the Seattle Mariners. He is an even 3-3 with a 4.29 ERA in seven home outings (six starts), but the offense has failed to produce a run in his last two starts at Yankee Stadium. In six career starts against the Angels, Vazquez is 0-3 with a 4.38 ERA, including a 5-3 loss to Pineiro on the 14th.
Bettors will likely find the Angels being 1-12 O/U on Wednesdays and find this to be a playable stat. Don’t get too caught up in this trend, as the team is 42-23 O/U the last three years in July. New York is an incredible 29-13 O/U when the total is 9 to 9.5, including a 17-6 O/U at home in this situation.
