The Los Angeles Angels (8-8) travel to face off against the Tampa Bay Rays (9-8) on Tuesday, April 16th. This game will be played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg and televised on BSW. The Angels are coming off a win in their previous game, while the Rays are looking to get back on track from a loss to the Rays. First pitch is set for 6:50 ET.

Angels vs Rays

Los Angeles rallied for five runs in the 8th inning in the most recent game of this series. The Angels scored two runs in the 1st inning but didn’t score another run until putting up five in the top of the 8th, picking up a 7-3 win over the Rays. Heading into the game, the Angels were at +137 on the money line.

Tampa Bay wasted a good outing from Zach Eflin, as he gave up just one run in 6 1/3 innings of work for the Rays. Phil Maton took the loss. Luis Garcia got the win out of the bullpen for the Angels as Patrick Sandoval went five innings, giving up one earned run.

Offensively, the Angels actually had one more hit than the Rays in the game, 13 to 12. Los Angeles also had just two more strikeouts than Tampa Bay and left six more runners on base.

After taking their series opener vs the Rays, the Angels are now at an even 8-8 as they Rays today. Looking at where they stand in the AL West, the Angels are in 2nd place, just a half-game behind the Rangers. So far, they have yet to play a game in their own division.

At home, the Angels have gone just 2-4, but they have been over .500 on the road at 6-4. Coming into today, they have lost three straight series and have an overall series record of 1-4.

When betting the run line, the Angels have been a solid play on the road, going 7-3 in their last 10 games. They have covered the run line in three straight games as the underdog and have an average run margin of +0.4 runs per game on the road this season.

The Angels have been involved in games with a combined run average of 9.6 this season, and their over/under record is 8-8. The average over/under line in their games is 9 runs, and when the line has been set at 8 runs, the over/under record is 1-1. The Angels have played in games with over/under lines set above 8 runs in 87.5% of their games this season.

José Soriano Gets The Start For The Angels

Jose Soriano will be making his third start of the season and is still looking for his first win. He started the season with a no-decision against the Orioles and then took a loss vs. the Rays. In that start, he went 4 innings and gave up 4 earned runs on 6 hits. Soriano has yet to go more than 4 innings in a start this season.

Angels Offense Breakdown

When it comes to the Angels’ offensive projections, we have Mike Trout with the 5th highest total hits projection on the team, but he is our top pick to hit a home run for the Angels and his home run projection is 10th best in the league today. Taylor Ward is our top projected hitter in terms of total hits, and his home run projection is 12th best in the league. If you’re looking for a player to hit a home run not named Mike Trout, Logan O’Hoppe is our 2nd best bet for the Angels and his home run projection is 11th best in the league. Nolan Schanuel is 2nd on the team in terms of total hits, and his home run projection is 18th in the league for today’s games.

The Rays are currently in 4th place in the AL East, and they will also be looking to move above .500 today, as they come into the game with a record of 9-8. Looking at their overall series record, the Rays are 3-1-1 this season.

When favored, Tampa Bay has gone 8-7 this season and 1-1 as the underdog. They have a series-winning streak of three games right now, which came after dropping their series vs. the Blue Jays.

When the Tampa Bay Rays win, they win big, with an average run margin of +2.9, but when they lose, they lose big, with an average run margin of -5.5. As a result, their run line record is just 7-10, with a losing run line record of 4-7 at home and 3-3 on the road. They have lost three straight run line bets as the favorite, and are 6-9 overall in that role.

The Tampa Bay Rays have had a combined run average of 9.4 runs per game this season, and their over/under record is 10-7. The over/under line for today’s game against the Los Angeles Angels is set at 8 runs. The over/under record when the line is set at 8 runs is 3-0, and the Rays have gone over the line in three straight games.

Aaron Civale Gets The Start For The Rays

After starting the season with a win against the Angels, Aaron Civale will be making his first start of the season at home. In his first start of the year, he went 5 innings, allowing 3 runs on 4 hits and 1 home run. He followed that up with a win over the Rangers, striking out 8 in 6 innings.

Rays Offense Breakdown

When looking at the Rays’ player props for today’s game, we see that Yandy Díaz has the highest hits projection on the team and is 20th in the league in terms of total hits. For home run props, we have Isaac Paredes as the top option for the Rays, with his odds being 11th best in the league. Jose Siri is 2nd on the team in terms of odds to hit a home run, with his odds being 12th best in the league. Harold Ramírez is 2nd on the team in terms of total hits, and his odds to hit a home run are 22nd in the league today.

Angels vs Rays Prediction

Our prediction for today’s Angels vs. Rays matchup is that the Rays will pick up a 5-4 win at home. With the Rays picking up the win, we recommend taking them on the money line, where the payout is -157.

Looking at the starting pitchers, Aaron Civale has the seventh-best chance of picking up a win among today’s starters. He is projected to finish with five strikeouts, and his 16th among starters in terms of hits allowed.

All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.