The Detroit Tigers and the Los Angeles Angels meet in game one of their three-game set in MLB action from Angel Stadium on Friday night.

Tigers Win Finale Vs. Reds

The Detroit Tigers were really struggling in their series against the Cincinnati Reds but managed to salvage an 8-2 win in Thursday’s series finale. The win brought the Tigers to 67-79 on the year, sitting 14 games back in the AL Wild Card hunt and 9.5 games back in the AL Central race. Spencer Torkelson leads the Tigers with 128 hits, 28 home runs and 81 RBIs as well as a team-high 31 doubles. Javier Baez has also chipped in 54 RBIs while Zach McKinstry has 16 stolen bases and Matt Vierling has a .268 batting average as well as a .333 OBP. Tarik Skubal will get the start for the Tigers here and is 5-3 with a 3.47 ERA and 75 strikeouts this season.

Detroit Tigers Team Facts

• The Tigers have lost each of their last 11 night games against the Angels following a home win.
• The Tigers have failed to cover the run line in each of their last eight night games against the Angels following a win.
• The Tigers have trailed after 3 innings in each of their last seven games against AL West opponents.
• The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Tigers’ last five road games.
• The Tigers have trailed after 7 innings in each of their last nine games at Angel Stadium of Anaheim against AL West opponents that held a losing record.

Angels Lose Series Vs. Mariners

The Los Angeles Angels had a chance to play spoiler against a division rival, but fell short in Wednesday’s series finale against the Mariners by a final score of 3-2. The loss dropped the Halos to 68-79 on the year, sitting 13.5 games back in the AL Wild Card chase. Shohei Ohtani leads the Angels across the board, hitting .304 with 151 hits, 44 home runs and 95 RBIs while Brandon Drury has 21 home runs, 70 RBIs and 25 doubles this season. Ohtani also has a team-high 8 triples to lead the Angels in three-baggers this season. Griffin Canning will start for the Angels here and is 7-6 with a 4.34 ERA and 120 strikeouts this season.

Los Angeles Angels Team Facts

• The Angels have won each of their last 10 night games against the Tigers following a loss.
• The Angels have covered the run line in each of their last six home games against the Tigers following a loss.
• The Angels have led after 3 innings in each of their last 10 night games against the Tigers.
• The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Angels’ last three night games.
• The Angels have won the first inning in each of their last three night games against the Tigers.

Matchup/League Facts

• The Los Angeles Angels rank 28th in the league for steals this season (71).
• The Los Angeles Angels rank 28th in the league for walks allowed this season (562).
• The Detroit Tigers rank 29th in the league for runs scored this season (580).
• The Detroit Tigers rank 29th in the league for slugging percentage this season (.377).

Chris’ Pick

I’m rolling with Detroit here. I’m just not into backing the Angels in any way, shape or form, and even though Canning’s been one of their more reliable options, I just feel like the Tigers are somehow the better team here. Skubal’s also been pitching well as of late and the one knock was that Skubal’s only pitched well at home, but he’s pitched fairly well in his last couple of road outings as well and at a coin flip price, I’ll back him and the Tigers here.