Angels are Live Dogs Against Yankees

Yankees vs. Angels, 9:38 ET

The Yankees have to be excited to see August end. In the month, they are just 9-17. Nine wins in a month for a team with World Series expectations is not good. They somehow lost 14 of 18 games to start August. While they've rebounded lately, they did have a bit of a stumble before losing three straight before winning last night. Now they close out the month looking to get their tenth win and win the series against the Angels.

I personally think a sign of how things are going for the Yankees, and that the Angels are playing better, is that Gerrit Cole is starting and the Yankees are a -190 favorite. Normally, in a game like this, he should be over 200 as a favorite. Cole has been fairly hit or miss this entire season. In August, the Yankees have lost four of his five starts, but that hasn't really been his fault. He posted a quality start in three of his five outings, allowing one or fewer runs in those three games. In the other two games, Cole has allowed four and six earned runs. In the past, he has turned in strong outings against the Angels, but he hasn't faced them this year.

Patrick Sandoval is throwing for the Angels. He has quietly put together a nice campaign for the Halos this season with a 3.05 ERA. His home starts have been good, and his night starts have been very strong with a 2.59 ERA in night starts. After pitching very poorly in July, Sandoval has put together an outstanding August campaign. In 25.1 innings, he has allowed just three earned runs. Still, even with his strong starts, he has only completed six or more innings in nine starts on the year. Leaving things to the Angels bullpen isn't a great idea, despite them being middle-of-the-pack.

With the way the two teams are playing lately, and the pitchers on the mound, I think the Angels are live dogs here. I already said, normally, this would be a much heavier favorite for the Yankees. I am going to take a shot through five innings at +160. The game line is the same, so take that instead if you like, but I prefer relying on just the starter and getting an option for a push if we need it.

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