Dodgers vs. Angels (7/15): Will a joyless July continue for the Angels?

Two teams headed in opposite directions are set to close out the first half with some Interleague action in Anaheim, as the Angels host the Dodgers for two games tonight and tomorrow night.

In tonight’s series opener, Clayton Kershaw will look to head into next week’s MLB All-Star festivities by leading the Dodgers to their 14th win in 16 games.

While things couldn’t be going much better for the NL West leaders at the moment, things couldn’t be going much worse for the Angels, who have not won a game started by someone other than Shohei Ohtani since June 27 and have lost ten of their last dozen games.

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Los Angeles Angels Matchup Information and Betting Odds

Matchup Information

• Matchup: Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Los Angeles Angels
• Venue & Location: Angel Stadium (Anaheim, California)
• Date: Friday, July 15, 2022
• Game Time: 9:38 p.m. Eastern Time (6:38 p.m. local time)

Dodgers vs. Angels Pitching Matchup

• Los Angeles Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw (2022: 11 starts, 6-2, 2.40 ERA)
• Los Angeles Angels: Patrick Sandoval (2022: 14 starts, 3-4, 2.95 ERA)

Dodgers vs. Angels Odds

Game odds are via BetOnline. Odds from our other top reviewed and recommended legal sports betting sites may also be featured in this article.

Moneyline

• Los Angeles Dodgers -200
• Los Angeles Angels +168

Over/Under

• OVER 7.5 (-120)
• UNDER 7.5 (-102)

Run Line

• Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5 (-120)
• Los Angeles Angels +1.5 (+100)

Can the Angels Finally Win Without Ohtani on the Mound?

In his last six starts on the mound, Shohei Ohtani is 6-0 with a 0.45 ERA. It is no surprise then Ohtani has moved back to the top of the AL MVP odds and is also in the thick of the AL Cy Young Award conversation, despite the Angels as a whole continuing to giving the below Tweet reason to pop up regularly:

every time I see an Angels highlight it’s like “Mike Trout hit three homes runs and raised his average to .528 while Shohei Ohtani did something that hasn’t been done since ‘Tungsten Arm’ O’Doyle of the 1921 Akron Groomsmen, as the Tigers defeated the Angels 8-3”

— ℳatt (@matttomic) May 18, 2021

Since Ohtani’s sizzling streak began, the Angels are 6-20 in games not started by Ohtani.

In that stretch, Sandoval is 0-3 in five starts, with the Angels’ only win in the bunch a 4-2, 10-inning win at Seattle on June 18.

It’s not as if Sandoval isn’t doing his part either, as his only poor start was at Houston on July 2, when he gave up five runs and eight hits in five innings. In the other four starts, he has allowed just four runs and has posted three quality starts.

It’s all down to a lack of run support, at least in Sandoval’s starts, as the Angels have scored just nine runs in his last five starts.

Tonight’s matchup certainly doesn’t bode particularly well for Sandoval or the Angels in that regard. After giving up 22 runs in three games against the Cubs and Cardinals, the Dodgers returned to their miserly ways yesterday with a 4-0 blanking of the Cardinals.

Prior to that little blip, the World Series favorites had allowed more than three runs only once in nine July games, a 4-2 home loss in Kershaw’s start against the Padres a dozen days ago.

And when it comes to tonight’s starter, Kershaw has given up more than two runs only twice in his 11 starts this season, including once in his six road starts.

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Los Angeles Angels Prediction and Best Bets

Dodgers vs. Angels Prediction: Dodgers to win

Dodgers vs. Angels Best Bets: Dodgers -1.5 (-112 at BetUS) & Dodgers -0.5 1st half RL (-128 at BetOnline)

The Angels are hitting just .190 and averaging just 2.8 runs per game in July, and it’s hard to see things going their way tonight. Along with facing one of the best pitchers in the game, they will have to contend with a bullpen that has the sixth-best bullpen ERA in the league.

And as with just about any Dodgers game, you have to look beyond the ML for the betting value. Sandoval can certainly keep the Angels in it, but if run support continues to be lacking, as is likely, he may need the best start of his career for the home team to come out on top.

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