Los Angeles Angels vs. New York Mets Best Bet: Is It Show Time for Shohei Ohtani and the Angels Tonight?

Los Angeles Angels vs. New York Mets Best Bet: Is It Show Time for Shohei Ohtani and the Angels Tonight?

The Los Angeles Angels and New York Mets meet in this week's Sunday night baseball matchup in what has been an exciting series. Angels fans can finally breathe after ending the losing streak in the series finale against the Red Sox. The Angels are in a position tonight to win their first series in a while. Tonight's rubber match will decide the series winner after the Angels took last night's game 11-6 after losing the opener 3-7. My prediction for this intriguing series closer is below.

Angels vs. Mets Start Time, Where to Watch, and Odds

• Date: June 12, 2022
• Game Time: 7:08 pm ET
• Where to Watch: ESPN

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Angels vs. Mets Total Movement

Los Angeles Angels vs. New York Mets Prediction

Taijuan Walker gets the nod for the Mets tonight, and he has been a surprising bright spot in the rotation. Walker was 7-11 in 2021 with a 4.47 ERA, but so far in 2022, he is 3-2 with a 3.28 ERA. The most significant change for Walker has been his increased splitter usage. His splitter is hit best pitch, and opponents are hitting .174 off his splitter with a 29.2% whiff percentage. However, he is still primarily a fastball pitcher, and he throws his four-seam faster at a 32% rate, and opponents are batting .327 off his fastball. Walker could be in for regression to his 2021 numbers, though, as his underlying figures tell a different story than his ERA. His xBA is .270 this season, compared to a .246 xBA last season, despite having a lower ERA this season. His strikeout percentage is also significantly down from last season. His 12% strikeout rate is in just the 5th percentile of MLB pitchers, whereas he had a 22% strikeout rate last season.

Walker also has an interesting day and night split. Walker is 2-0 with a 1.42 ERA over three daytime starts this year, while he is 1-2 with a 4.55 ERA over six night starts. This, of course, is a night start, so we will see a different Walker than the one who has been dominating daytime starts.

The Angels send Patrick Sandoval to the mound today, who has also been a pleasant surprise in the Angels rotation. Sandoval is 3-1 with a 2.81 ERA, and the Angels have won six of his nine starts. However, he has been starting to show signs of regression. Sandoval had a 0 ERA in April over his first three starts, but in his last two starts, he has given up 7 earned runs in 7.2 innings pitched. He also has a 2.22 WHIP over his last two starts and has been hit hard. Now, Sandoval faces the overall highest team average in baseball. The Mets hold a .264 team batting average, which leads the MLB.

Both teams also hit extraordinarily well in night starts compared to day games. The Mets hit .249 in day games but .274 in night games, which also leads the MLB. The Angels hit .226 in day games and .252 in night games, tenth in the MLB.

This head-to-head matchup has historically seen many runs. The Angels and Mets are 11-2-4 to the over in their last 17 against each other and 5-0 to the over in the previous five meetings in Anaheim. The weather should provide a nice boost to batter's hits tonight as well. The wind is blowing out to center field at around 10-15 mph. With all things considered, the top play tonight is the over. The bats are hot on both sides, and the Angels bats specifically seem to be woken up after a 14-game losing streak. Take tonight to be another high-scoring affair.

Los Angeles Angels vs. New York Mets Pick

• Over 9 (-120) (Bet $120 to Win $100)

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