Cleveland Indians vs Los Angeles Angels MLB Picks, Odds, Predictions 8/20/2021
Los Angeles Angels (61-61) vs. Cleveland Indians (58-61)
August 20, 2021 7:10 pm EDT
The Line: Cleveland Indians -147 / Los Angeles Angels +110; Over/Under: -8.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Los Angeles Angels and the Cleveland Indians meet Friday in MLB action from Progressive Field. The Angels just played a three-game series versus the Tigers. LA won the first two games, then in the Thursday finale the Angels posted a miraculous comeback victory for the sweep. As for the Indians, they played the Twins in their last series. Cleveland got a win Tuesday but fell in the other pair. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place.
The Angels posted an 8-2 win over the Tigers on Tuesday, then followed that up with a 3-1 win in the Wednesday game. In the Thursday finale, LA was down 10-2 heading into the sixth, but scored 11 unanswered runs from there in an unbelievable 13-10 comeback victory.
Starter for the Angels on Friday will be Jaime Barria. Across his 28.2 innings of work so far this year Barria has 28 hits, 15 earned runs, four homers allowed, 11 walks, 14 strikeouts and a 4.71 ERA.
Over on the Cleveland side, they managed a 3-1 victory over the Twins this week, but otherwise fell to Minnesota 5-4 Monday and 8-7 Wednesday in a tough series. Wednesday starter Zach Please gave up five runs on six hits and two walks in 4.2 frames.
The Indians will send out Sam Hentges in the Friday start. This year Hentges has 48.2 innings with 72 hits, 44 runs (43 earned), eight homers allowed, 27 walks, 49 Ks and a 7.95 ERA.
The Angels are 21-5 in their last 26 versus a team with a losing record and 16-35 in their last 51 Friday games. The under is 4-0 in LA’s last four Friday games and 15-4 in their last 19 road games.
Meanwhile, Cleveland is 4-11 in their last 15 Friday games and 0-6 in their last six after an off day. The Indians are 1-5 in their last six versus the AL West and the over is 4-1 in their last five Friday games.
PICK: I’m going to stick with the Angels, but probably staying away. Cleveland gave up 13 runs in their two losses during the Twins series, and they’ve surrendered four or more runs in seven of their last nine games. That bodes well for the LA offense, but the Angels have admittedly been spotty when it comes to putting up runs lately. Barria is going to need a decent bounce-back here as well; he gave up three earned on seven hits, a walk and a homer in 3.0 innings versus the Astros his last time up. I think LA wins here, but it may not be pretty.
