Los Angeles Angels (62-44, 1st in AL West) at Oakland A's (51-57, 3rd in AL West), 10 pm Eastern Thursday
by Predictem.com Staff
The first-place Los Angeles Angels visit the struggling Oakland A's in the opener of a four-game series at McAfee Coliseum Thursday night.
The A's are listed as early -110 favorites for Thursday's game, with an over/under of nine.
Los Angeles leads the AL West by three games over the second-place Seattle Mariners, while third-place Oakland trails the Angles by 12 games. The A's also lag 9 ½ games behind the Cleveland Indians in the AL wild-card race.
L.A. has won five of its last seven games, scoring 56 runs over that span.
Oakland has won two straight, but is just 7-13 since the All-Star break.
The Angels are 27-28 on the road this season, while the A's are 27-28 at home.
Despite trailing Los Angeles by a dozen games in the standings, Oakland leads the season series with the Angles six games to three this season. And seven of those nine games have stayed under their posted totals.
Joe Saunders (4-0, 3.16), the listed starter for L.A. Thursday, has started three games vs. the A's this year and last, allowing 10 ER and 24 base-runners (hits + walks) in just 13 1/3 IP.
Chad Gaudin (8-6, 3.71), slated to start for Oakland, has started three games vs. the Angels this season, allowing eight ER and 23 baserunners in 16 1/3 IP.
Los Angels is 6-1 in games Saunders has started this year, while the A's are 14-8 in Gaudin's starts.
The Angels own a .343 team OBP this season and are averaging 5.1 runs per game.
Oakland owns a .332 team OBP and is averaging 4.3 RPG.
A's 3B Eric Chavez, who hasn't played in a week, is listed as questionable for Thursday's game with a back injury.
The O/U is 48-52 in Los Angeles games this year, and a convincing 39-64 in Oakland games.
Our Pick: Take the Under 9 runs (-120.)
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