Yankees vs. Angels Odds, Preview, Prediction: Halos No Match for New York Without Shohei Ohtani (August 31)

The Yankees are probably a little sad to see August come to a close tonight as no team has won more games this month than New York. The scorching hot month propelled the Yankees back into a playoff position, currently holding the top Wild Card spot in the American League.

The Angels, on the other hand, treaded water for a little bit after the loss of superstar Mike Trout but have slowly sunk to the bottom. Only two teams in the AL have won fewer games than Los Angeles this month.

This game lost a little bit of its luster with the news Shohei Ohtani was scratched from his scheduled start after being hit on his right hand by a pitch on Saturday. I’m sure Ohtani was itching to get another chance against the Yankees after suffering the worst outing of his career in the Bronx earlier this year.

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Taillon Continues to Perform for Yankees

After undergoing surgery for testicular cancer in 2017 and having Tommy John surgery twice in 2019 and 2020, Jameson Taillon (RHP) has worked himself into the Comeback Player of the Year discussion in his first season with the Yankees.

After getting off to a shaky start at the beginning of the year, Taillon earned American League Pitcher of the Month honors in July after a 4-0 month with a 1.16 ERA. In 10 starts since the beginning of July, Taillon is 5-0 with a 2.67 ERA.

A huge reason for the success of Taillon has been the improvement of his curveball. Teams were hitting .296 against Taillon’s breaking ball from April — June, but since the start of July, they have hit just .176 against it.

The Yankees have been the best team in the league over the last month, and their offense has finally gotten going the way most expected it to.

Over the last month, the Bronx Bombers rank eight in wOBA and sixth in wRC+. They walk more often than any team in the league and sit fifth in on-base percentage.

Trading for Anthony Rizzo looks like a genius move if only because it made Luke Voit angry. Last year’s home run king is batting .364 with a 1.175 OPS over the last two weeks.

The big guns of Voit, Stanton and Judge are all batting over .340 with an OPS over 1.000 over the last two weeks.

What Will Angels Do Without Ohtani?

With Ohtani being scratched, Jaime Barria (RHP) will make another start for Los Angeles. The 25-year-old has made six starts this season but has struggled to maintain a permanent spot in the rotation so far in his career.

After making his MLB debut in 2018, Barria has bounced between the big leagues and Triple-A in each of the last four seasons. He has made six starts and eight appearances this year and 50 starts and 60 appearances over his career.

Don’t expect Barria to pitch too deep into tonight’s game. In his six starts this year, he has lasted just an average of 4.2 innings, holding a 2-2 record and 4.50 ERA. He has not completed four innings in any of his last three starts.

After losing Trout in May, the Halos’ offense held water for a while but has really tailed off recently. Over the last month, the Angels rank 29th in the league in wOBA and 28th in wRC+.

Despite having the home-run leader In Ohtani, only two teams have hit fewer home runs than Los Angeles over the last month. Even Ohtani hit only .205 over the last 30 days.

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Yankees-Angels Pick

The Yankees have dominated during August, so it only makes sense to back them to close this month on a high note.

Barria is a young pitcher who has yet to find his spot in the big leagues, and opponents are batting .381 against him this month.

Taillon has been really solid since the start of July, and tweaking his curveball a little bit head really paid off and it has been super effective. The Angels rank just 27th against curveballs in the last month.

The Angels offense, as a whole, has really gone downhill, while the Yankees are just hitting their stride.

New York does a great job of getting on base, generating the most walks and the fifth-highest on-base percentage over the last month, combining that with the home run power throughout the entire lineup.

It seems like the Yankees bullpen has caused a little more sweating than fans would prefer, but the fact is they still boast the best bullpen ERA and FIP over the last month. They will have an advantage in their starter and back-end against an Angels pen that ranks 18th in ERA.

This line opened with the Yankees at -120, but with Ohtani being scratched, it will surely continue to move overnight. I would play the Yankees if you can get them at -145 or better.

Pick: New York Yankees ML (-145 or better)

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