Los Angeles Angels vs Oakland Athletics Prediction, 8/21/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Los Angeles Angels vs Oakland Athletics

Date: Friday, August 21, 2020

Location: Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, CA

TV: FSW/NSCA

Odds/Point Spread: Angels (+121) Athletics (-131)

Marcus Semien and the Oakland Athletics (17-8, 1st in AL West) host the Los Angeles Angels (8-17, 4th in AL West) at Oakland Coliseum on Friday. The Angels open this matchup at +121 while the Athletics are priced at -131. The over/under opens at 9. The pitchers taking the mound will be Andrew Heaney and Mike Fiers.

Key Los Angeles Angels Injuries

8/19/2020 Andrelton Simmons SS Ankle Expected to be out until at least Aug 20
8/18/2020 Cam Bedrosian RP Thigh Expected to be out until at least Aug 31
8/14/2020 Dillon Peters SP Oblique Expected to be out until at least Aug 25
8/8/2020 Parker Markel RP Undisclosed Expected to be out until at least Aug 24
7/23/2020 Justin Anderson RP Elbow Out for the season

Key Oakland Athletics Injuries

8/17/2020 Burch Smith RP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Sep 7
8/10/2020 A.J RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 1

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Angels have a 8-17 overall record this season. Heaney (21-27 career win-loss record) sits with a FIP of 4.38 and he has faced 1,950 hitters in the majors. His ERA is 4.46 (229 earned runs allowed) and his WHIP is 1.255. He has given up 452 hits (8.8 hits per nine innings) and has 128 free passes. Heaney has thrown 462 frames and has racked up 455 punchouts so far in his pro baseball career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.64 and they have given up 106 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .221 against the bullpen and they've struck out 108 hitters and walked 46 batters. As a team, Los Angeles allows 8.6 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.7 batters per nine innings. They are 23rd in the league in team earned run average at 5.06. The Angels pitchers collectively have given up 213 base hits and 125 earned runs. They have allowed 32 home runs this season, ranking them 12th in the league. Los Angeles as a pitching staff has walked 94 batters and struck out 215. They have walked 3.8 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.7 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.38 and their FIP as a unit is 4.48.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team Los Angeles is hitting .227, good for 23rd in the league. The Angels hold a .421 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .310, which is good for 23rd in baseball. They rank 20th in MLB with 7.6 hits per game. Tommy La Stella is hitting .289 with an on-base percentage of .382. He has 22 hits this season in 76 at bats with 11 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .500 and an OPS+ of 140. Mike Trout is hitting .277 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .340. He has totaled 23 hits and he has driven in 20 men in 83 at bats. His OPS+ is 163 while his slugging percentage is at .651. The Angels have 191 hits, including 37 doubles and 41 home runs. Los Angeles has walked 98 times so far this season and they have struck out 211 times as a unit. They have left 164 men on base and have a team OPS of .731. They score 4.6 runs per contest and have scored a total of 115 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

So far in his pro baseball career, Fiers has given up 1,071 hits and he has 964 strikeouts in 1,108 frames. He has given up a total of 500 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.261 and being the owner of a FIP of 4.6. He has a SO/W ratio of 2.96 and he has gone up against 4,662 opposing batters thus far in his career. Fiers (71-60 career record) has earned a 4.06 ERA while surrendering 8.7 hits per 9 innings. The bullpen has an earned run average of 2.31 and they have given up 81 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .189 against the Athletics bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 114 batters and walked 34 opposing hitters. As a team, Oakland allows 8.2 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.4 batters per nine innings. They are 5th in the league in team earned run average at 3.72. The Athletics pitchers as a team have surrendered 206 base knocks and 94 earned runs this season. They have given up 28 home runs this year, which ranks 20th in Major League Baseball. Oakland as a staff has walked 75 hitters and struck out 212 batters. They give up a walk 3 times per 9 innings while they strike out 8.4 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.24 while their FIP as a staff is 3.94.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .224, good for 24th in the league. The Athletics hold a .414 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .326, which is good for 9th in baseball. They rank 23rd in MLB with 7.4 hits per contest. Marcus Semien comes into this matchup batting .222 with an OBP of .270. He has 24 hits this year along with 9 RBI in 108 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .352 with an OPS+ of 74. Matt Chapman is hitting .238 this season and he has an OBP of .278. He has collected 24 hits in 101 at bats while driving in 17 runs. He has an OPS+ of 119 and a slugging percentage of .525. The Athletics as a unit have 184 base hits, including 32 doubles and 37 homers. Oakland has walked 110 times this year and they have struck out on 251 occasions. They have had 163 men left on base and have an OPS of .740. They have scored 5.04 runs per game and totaled 126 runs this season.

Who will win tonight's Angels/Athletics MLB game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take the Athletics (-131)

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