The action in the MLB continues on Wednesday, August 23, with 14 games on the schedule including this American League duel, and here you can check out the best Angels vs. Rays betting pick and odds.

Los Angeles Angels and Tampa Bay will play the third of a four-game series at Tropicana Field, and the Rays are firm -250 moneyline favorites on Bovada Sportsbook, while the total is set at 7 runs. These American League rivals have met three times this season before this series, and the Angels won two of those games.

Angels are struggling again

Although the Los Angeles Angels showed some better performances early in the second half of the season, they returned to losing ways. Los Angeles lost six of the previous seven games, including the opening tilt of this series, while Game 2 will be played on Tuesday night, at the time of writing.

The Angels scored just five runs in the last four games and they entered the series against the Rays with a 2-1 defeat. Mike Trout was responsible for their only run with an RBI single in the 5th inning. Tucker Davidson (2-4) took a loss after allowing two runs on six hits with two strikeouts and three walks over 5.0 innings.

Mike Mayers (1-0) will likely get his first start of the season when he meets Tampa Bay on Wednesday. The 30-year-old right-hander has a 5.22 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, and 27/9 K/BB ratio in 29.1 innings of work.

Rays are surging at the moment

The Tampa Bay came into this series after winning the series over the Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, and Kansas City Royals. Including the opening game against the Angels, the Rays won eight of the last ten games and are very much alive in the race for a wildcard.

Tampa Bay’s pitching and defense were excellent once again as they managed to edge the Los Angeles Angels in a low-scoring affair. It was a tied, 1-1 game before Randy Arozarena hit a solo homer in the bottom 5th to set the final score and give a victory to the Rays. Jeffrey Springs improved to a 6-3 record after surrendering one run on five hits with seven strikeouts and three walks over 5.2 innings. Shawn Armstrong earned his first save of the campaign.

Shane McClanahan (11-5) will be on the mound for the 24th time this year when he takes on the Angels on Wednesday. The 25-year-old lefty has an excellent 2.29 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, and 173/29 K/BB ratio across 141.1 innings.

Trends:

Los Angeles:

  • 6-20 in the last 26 vs. American League East rivals
  • 0-4 in the last four games vs. a left-handed starter

Tampa Bay:

  • 4-0 in the last four games with the total set at 7.0-8.5
  • 8-2 in the last ten overall
  • 12-5 in the last 17 vs. American League West opponents

Los Angeles Angels vs. Tampa Bay Rays Odds Pick  

Shane McClanahan dominated the Angels in his previous start against Los Angeles and didn’t allow a single run on three hits over 7.0 innings. The southpaw let just four hits in 35 at-bats against the Angels’ batters in his career, which is only .144. Only David Fletcher and Shohei Ohtani, two each, registered hits against McClanahan, and that’s not good news for the visitors. Tampa Bay is in good form right now and cannot afford to lose this type of game, so I am backing them to get a comfortable victory.

Pick: Take the Rays -1.5 Run Line at +100

The Total

Even though McClanahan was a beast in his start against the Angels, which was back in May, and at the moment, the 25-year-old left-hander is not untouchable. He surrendered at least two runs in each of his last six starts and is 1-2 in that span. I am backing the Angeles to score 2+ runs against McClanahan on Wednesday. Tampa Bay shouldn’t have problems with Los Angeles’ pitching staff here. Over is 11-5-1 in the last 17 H2H meetings, while Over is 7-3-1 in the Angels’ previous 11 games on astroturf.

Pick: Go Over 7 runs at -110