Analyze This: MLB Bettors Rise and Fall with the Angels
by Bovada Sportsbook Staff | August 24, 2012
Bettors wager heavy on one of baseball’s most inconsistent squads, did it pay off?
The Los Angeles Angels (64-60) have been a tough squad to peg in MLB betting for quite some time. Expectations were high once first baseman Albert Pujols brought his hall-of-fame bat to the lineup, but L.A. looked anything like a MLB bank machine after the first couple of months of the regular season.
And after playing promising baseball from mid-June to the July 10 All-Star break the Angels have been largely inconsistent, winning just eight of their last 20. But with 10-straight games at home bettors decided it was time to hop back on L.A.‘s bandwagon, three of our top five MLB bets at the Bovada Sportsbook were on the Angels.
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It began on Aug. 14 in a series with the Cleveland Indians (54-70). Zack Greinke (10-5, 4.01 ERA) was on the mound for L.A. and looking for his first victory since joining L.A. via trade. The fact that he’s struggled since the trade didn’t seem to scare bettors away, 96 percent took L.A. on the +110 runline, another 91 percent took the -189 moneyline and 76 percent anticipated a high scoring game by betting OVER the total. The likely scenario is that bettors went against Cleveland starter Ubaldo Jimemez (9-12, 5.59 ERA), and they were right to do it. After four innings Jimenez gave up eight runs, including a home run and four RBI from Pujols. Greinke wasn’t dynamic but he was solid, giving up just four runs seven innings of work.
Bettors went all-in on L.A. versus Cleveland again on Aug. 15, and the payoff was the same. The Angels bats lit up Cleveland’s Roberto Hernandez (0-2, 6.75 ERA) for five runs in six innings, L.A. added three more in the eighth to make it an 8-4 win. Ninety-one percent took L.A. on the +120 runline; another 87 percent took the -166 moneyline. Again 76 percent bet anticipated bad pitching from Cleveland by betting OVER 9.
With the Angels riding a three-game winning streak bettors didn’t back down in the second game against the Tampa Bay Rays (70-55). The Rays are no slouch, sitting on top on the American League Wild-Card standings, and in a fight for the AL East lead with the New York Yankees. But Jared Weaver (16-3, 2.74 ERA) was starting for L.A. and is having a monster season (at one point winning 12-straight for those who wagered on him). 99.5 percent bet on the +130 runline another 88 percent thought they were playing it safe by taking the -160 moneyline.
But as we said, the Angels are no slouch. Tampa hit Weaver early with home runs in the first and second inning and got even uglier in the fourth. Tampa popped off for seven runs and 12-3 was the final. Not even a consolation prize for the 70 percent who bet UNDER the total.
Though L.A. paid bettors in two out of three matchups, they quickly learned that you can rarely trust the Angels in any matchup.
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