MLB Picks: Major League Baseball’s most prolific winning road team the Los Angeles Angels will look to improve on their 20-11 road mark tonight in Oakland when they play the second game of a three game weekend series against the Oakland Athletics in the Oakland Coliseum. The AL West Division leading Angels will send veteran RHP Jon Garland (5-3, 3.99 ERA) to the mound while the Athletics counter with LHP Greg Smith (3-4, 3.56 ERA).
MLB Picks oddsmakers at online sportsbook SportsBetting.com currently have the Athletics listed as 134-moneyline favorites versus the Angels, while the game's total is sitting at 8.
Coming off a superb May (2-0, 1.78 ERA in five starts), Jon Garland struggled to get through five innings while yielding three runs against the Jays on Sunday. A 44-pitch first inning left him in a hole, but he kept the team in a game it eventually won. Garland is 3-1 with a 3.00 ERA in five road starts. The A's knocked him around (seven earned runs, 10 hits in six innings) in an April 28 loss at home. Garland is 3-9 in 14 career starts against the A's but pitched better (3.86 ERA) than his 2-5 record suggests at McAfee Coliseum during his White Sox days.
Greg Smith finally had a bad outing in the A's 13-8 victory over Texas last Sunday. The Rookie of the Year candidate allowed seven runs in five innings. The left-hander was more unlucky than anything, giving up several ground-ball hits in a five-run sixth that cost him a chance at a victory. Smith had a strong May with a 2.97 ERA for five starts. He led all American League rookies with 49 strikeouts before punching out four against the Rangers.
The Angels earned a tough 3-1 win over the A's in Friday night's opener, as -115 favorites. The four runs fell UNDER the posted over/under (7).
Vladimir Guerrero went 2-for-4 at the plate with one RBI for the Angels. John Lackey gave up one run over seven innings to pick up the win.
Jack Cust homered for the A's, while Joe Blanton allowed three runs off seven hits over seven innings. The A's were +105 underdogs in that game.
