The Los Angeles Angels (45-41, 22-21 away) and the San Diego Padres (38-46, 20-22 home) begin a three-game series to close out the first half of the season beginning on Monday night. The series will be the first and only time these two interleague opponents face each other this season.
The first pitch of the series-opener is at 9:40 p.m. EST inside Petco Park in San Diego, California. San Diego is the betting favorite (-175 moneyline) and the over/under total is eight runs.
What to Know – Los Angeles Angels
Los Angeles snapped a four-game losing streak with Sunday’s series-finale victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Angels will try and close out the first half by chipping away at the Texas Rangers six-game advantage in the AL West.
The expected starter for the Angels is right-hander Jaime Barria (2-3, 2.92 ERA, 1.18 WHIP). Barria has bounced between the bullpen and rotation, making five starts and 17 appearances this season. On the year, the 26-year-old has pitched 49.1 innings, allowing 16 earned runs on 42 hits and 16 walks while striking out 40 batters.
Offensively, the Angels are 11th in the majors hitting .256 as a team and scoring 4.9 runs per game. The pitching staff for Los Angeles ranks 16th amongst league teams with a 4.15 team earned run average.
Shohei Ohtani is the hottest name in baseball, and for a good reason. The two-way star is doing it all for the Angels and currently leads the majors with 31 home runs and is tied for most runs driven in with 68. Brandon Drury has added 45 RBIs, and Mike Trout has driven in 43 runners and swatted 18 home runs.
What to Know – San Diego Padres
The Padres had hoped for a better first half, and San Diego limps into the first full week of July, having lost seven of their last eight matchups. San Diego has tumbled down the standings, trailing the Diamondbacks by 11.5 games.
Lefty Blake Snell (4-7, 3.21 ERA, 1.21 WHIP) makes his final start of the first half of the season. The 30-year-old pitched phenomenal during the month of June, sporting a 0.87 ERA over 31.0 innings of work. In 2023, Snell has thrown 87.0 innings, surrendered 31 earned runs, 63 hits, 42 walks, and struck out 114 batters.
The Padres offense sits 24th in the MLB batting .233 as a lineup and averaging 4.3 runs per contest. San Diego’s pitching staff is eighth in the league sporting a 3.83 team ERA.
Juan Soto and Frenando Tatis Jr. are the driving catalysts for the success of the Padres offense. Since serving a 20-game suspension to begin the season, Tatis Jr. hasn’t skipped a beat hitting a team-high 16 home runs and batting .280. Soto leads the Padres lineup with 46 RBIs.
The Pick is In
Ohtani and Trout will be problems for Snell and the Padres pitching staff, but Snell has been nearly unhittable on the mound, and we expect that presence to continue in the series opener. The Padres get it done on Monday and build up some momentum heading into the break.
The Pick: San Diego Padres ML
