The Oakland Athletics and the Los Angeles Angels kick off a three-game set this Tuesday night at Angels Stadium in the first meeting this season between the AL West rivals. The game is slated to get underway at 10:05 p.m. (ET), and it will be available on MLB Extra Innings.

Oakland stumbled out of the gate with back-to-back losses to Seattle, but after rallying to tie that series and roll over Houston with three-straight victories this past weekend, it has grabbed the early lead in the division at 5-2. The total has gone “over” in its last six games.

The Angels were one of the top favorites to win it all this season, but they have been plagued with a slow start that includes dropping two of three to Cincinnati in an early interleague matchup before posting a 1-2 record against Texas in a three-game weekend set. The total has gone over in four of six games.

Athletics at Angels Betting Storylines

The A’s have shown some serious power at the plate so far with a total of 37 runs in their last five games after scoring just one run in their first two games. Jed Lowrie has been a beast so far with six RBI and a batting average of .500. Coco Crisp has punched in five runs, aided by three home runs, and Chris Young has four RBI in just 13 at bats.

Right-hander Jarrod Parker is scheduled to get the start on Tuesday night. He got shelled in his first outing this season against the Mariners in allowing four runs on five hits in just five innings of work. Last season, he went 13-8 in 29 starts and finished the year with an overall ERA of 3.47. Parker is 1-2 lifetime against the Angels with a 2.60 ERA.

With the exception of an 8-4 romp over the Rangers this past Saturday, the high-powered Angels’ lineup has been struggling with a bit of a power failure with an average of 3.2 runs a game in its other five outings. Albert Pujols has just four hits in his first 19 at-bats, but two of them were for homers. Josh Hamilton is also struggling with a .160 batting average in 25 trips to the plate. The team’s overall batting average through the first six games is .250.

CJ Wilson is slated to make his second start of the season in this game after getting roughed up for four runs (three earned) on five hits in six full innings last week against the Reds. Last season against the A’s, the left-hander was able to compile a 2-2 record in four starts with an ERA of 3.00. Overall, Wilson is 7-7 against Oakland with a 3.57 ERA.

Athletics at Angels MLB Betting Odds and Trends

Oakland has been opened by BetOnline as a +140 road underdog on the money line with the Angels listed as -150 home favorites. The “over/under” for this game has been set at 7.5.

The A’s are 19-7 in their last 26 division games and 4-0 in their last four games against a left-handed starter. The total has gone over in their last four games on the road.

The Angels are 7-2 in Wilson’s last nine starts and 4-1 in the first game of their last five series. The total has gone over in six of their last seven games following a loss.

The road team is 6-1 in the last seven meetings between the two, and the total has stayed under in four of the last six games.

Athletics at Angels Picks and Betting Predictions

The A’s come into this series with some hot bats, but a good majority of those runs came against Houston pitchers. Wilson is a whole other story and should be able to shut them down just enough to help Los Angeles come away with a much-needed victory in this series opener.

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