Six straight games.
That’s the losing streak the Los Angeles Angels (45-47) find themselves in as they slide down the standings while the trade rumors continue to swirl around superstar Shohei Ohtani.
Phil Nevin’s side gets no reprieve as they face the defending World Series Champions, the Houston Astros (51-41), on Saturday night.
It’ll be the second of a three-game series after the Astros notched a 7-5 victory in Game 1 despite facing a tough matchup with Ohtani on the mound.
Game 2 features an intriguing pitching duel and I’ve selected one of the southpaws on the bump’s player props as a wise MLB odds investment.
Read on for my best bet and full MLB picks and predictions for the Astros vs. Angels on Saturday, July 15.
Astros vs Angels odds
Astros vs Angels predictions
Saturday’s Game 2 features fun starting pitching matchup between two left-handers in the Astros’ Framber Valdez and the Angels’ Reid Detmers. I’m choosing to target one of Valdez’s player props for my best bet.
The 29-year-old was named to the 2023 All-Star Game but did not make an appearance as he would’ve been working on short rest. It was a well-deserved honor, as the stocky 5-foot-11 ace has a superb 2.51 ERA while posting the second-highest K/9 of his career at 9.41.
He’s made batters miss with more regularity this season, evidenced by a 26.2% K-rate that is above his 23.5% career mark by nearly three percentage points. The underlying numbers show that it’s likely not a fluke, as his swinging strike rate has been steadily rising nearly every season and has now been at 11.3% for the second straight year.
The Dominican hurler matches up with a reeling Angels team that has lost six straight games and 10 of their last 11. The lineup has been weakened with the losses of Mike Trout, Brandon Drury, and Anthony Rendon to injury. This is troubling news and the lineup has been prone to punchouts already, posting a 27.6% K-rate since the start of July — the second-highest number in the majors. Things have gone from bad to worse.
Valdez has dominated his AL West counterpart in both prior meetings this season, tossing eight innings of three-hit, one-run ball while striking out 12 in a May 9 meeting and then notching seven scoreless, five-hit innings while striking out seven on June 2.
The left-hander’s strikeout prop is set at 6.5 across most books with plus money to the Over, and those are odds that I can’t shy away from. The Halos have the league’s second-highest swinging strike rate (13.6%) since mid-June and are reeling with multiple regulars on the injured list, so I envision yet another effective Valdez performance on Saturday.
My best bet: Framber Valdez Over 6.5 strikeouts (+130)
Astros vs Angels same-game parlay
Valdez Over 6.5 Ks (+130)
Angels TT Under 4.5 (-215)
Escobar Under 0.5 hits (+165)
This SGP is a three-legger with two correlated plays surrounding my best bet as outlined above — Valdez to notch at least seven strikeouts. The second leg we’ll add to that centerpiece will be the Angels to score four runs or less. This lineup is really hurting without the services of three regulars in Trout, Rendon, and Drury. There’s a reason they’ve lost 10 of their last 11 games, as things simply aren’t clicking. A matchup with Valdez, who has been among the league’s most effective pitchers for four years and running now, is certainly not ideal or conducive to offensive success.
The last leg that I’ll add is the Angels’ Eduardo Escobar to go Under his 0.5 hit prop. Escobar has been a lineup regular lately more so due to injuries than production, so I’m inclined to fade him here in a tough matchup against Valdez and his stellar 1.05 WHIP.
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Astros vs Angels moneyline and Over/Under analysis
The Astros are expected to win this one, sitting between -135 and -141 depending on the book. The best comeback currently available on the Angels is +124.
I’ll add a disclaimer that the Astros are also shorthanded as stars Yordan Alvarez and Jose Altuve are both on the shelf with oblique injuries. Still, this roster has way more depth than their counterparts and they’ve been able to manage these body blows better than their AL West counterpart, who has seemingly turned to dust lately.
The Astros aren’t a bad look at -135 on the moneyline or +125 on the -1.5 run line. They’ve dominated this series, winning six of the last seven meetings against the Halos.
The total is set at a flat 8 across nearly every book, although 8.5 is also showing.
I’d be inclined to play the Under, considering I’m forecasting yet another productive day at the office for Valdez. I’m a little unsure what to think about Detmers in this start, considering he was on a great run (five combined earned runs surrendered across five consecutive starts) before getting shelled for seven earned in his last start.
Overall, Detmers has been terrific this season and is much better than his surface-level numbers indicate. His counterpart in Valdez is a tried-and-true ace facing a depleted lineup for a team mired in misery. This all points toward the Under in my opinion.
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Trend to know
Valdez has notched at least seven strikeouts in each of his two starts against the Angels this year. Find more MLB betting trends for Astros vs. Angels
Astros vs Angels game info
| Location: | Angel Stadium, Anaheim, CA |
| Date: | Saturday, July 15, 2023 |
| First pitch: | 9:07 p.m. ET |
| TV: | ATTH, BSW |
Starting pitchers
Framber Valdez (7-6, 2.51 ERA): Valdez is working on six days’ rest after allowing two earned runs across six innings against the Seattle Mariners last Saturday. He’s been his usual effective self and while his 3.89 xERA doesn’t necessarily prove that, his 2.82 FIP does. The lefty has made two appearances against the Angels, winning them both while surrendering just one earned run while notching 19 strikeouts across 15 innings.
Reid Detmers (2-6, 4.31 ERA): Detmers is also working on six days' rest. He was shelled in that outing, surrendering seven earned runs, six hits, and a walk against the Los Angeles Dodgers last Saturday. He was taken deep on three occasions. His 4.14 xERA and 3.78 FIP both indicate he’s been slightly better than his surface-level numbers, and he sports a massive 29.2% K-rate.
