Angels And Padres Will Continue Offensive Onslaught

Angels vs. Padres, 9:40 ET

I had a decent day yesterday. In fact, I was really happy with myself, and if you've read enough of my articles, you'll realize that I don't congratulate myself often. I'm not sitting here doing a victory lap or anything, it was a 1-0-1 day, but what I was happy about was I feel like I'm starting to recognize things a bit better. Yesterday, I looked at Justin Verlander and Merril Kelly and saw their numbers look kind of bad, but examining it, they actually were throwing well. We took the under, and it got a relatively sweat-free win. Let's hope for more of that today as the Angels take on the Padres.

The Angels come into today's game after taking yesterday's game against the Padres. How did they win that game? I'm glad you asked. The Angels were down by two in the bottom of the ninth inning. Teams up two with two outs to go have something like a 98% chance to win a game. The Padres gave up an infield single, which was a bit of a fluke. Then they walked four straight batters, tying the game. The odds of walking four straight batters seem pretty low, but I'm really not sure. They got a strikeout and it looked like they would go to the bottom of the ninth tied. That is until the Angels hit a grand slam and won the game 9-5. Today they get a chance to win without the dramatics as Jose Soriano takes the mound. He is 2-4 for the season with a 4.00 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. He's actually been pretty reliable for the Angels this season with 10 of his earned runs coming in 8.2 innings of work, and the other 10 coming in 36.1 innings. He is likely to give up a couple runs in each game, but that doesn't mean he will give up a ton. Padres hitters are hitting .353 against him, but it is in just 17 at-bats. 

May 31, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Jose Soriano (59) pitches to the Seattle Mariners during the third inning at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

I have to imagine after a game like yesterday, the Padres have one of two thoughts in their minds. They either can't believe that just happened and they are annoyed which means they don't really want to play today. Or, they are super competitive today and say they can't believe that just happened and want to get to the park and get the game going to avenge the loss. With 162 games, the reality is it is probably somewhere in the middle. The Padres just put up 21 runs on the Rockies in one game and then lost the next one. They've now allowed nine runs in three of the past four games. Looking to stop a bit of that bleeding is Dylan Cease, but he has been anything but his Cy Young finalist form this season. For the year, Cease is 1-2 with a 4.91 ERA, and a 1.41 WHIP. I gave Soriano a bit of a pass so I should give Cease some too as he has allowed 22 earned runs this year with nine coming in four innings and the other 13 coming over 36.1 innings. He has been very good against Angels hitters in the past, holding them to just a .172 average in 58 at-bats. 

This is one of those games where the Padres will probably get right, right away. I am not expecting them to destroy the Angels, but I'd be a bit surprised if this game goes under the total since we are pretty low. Both starters are good and can keep the scoring low, but I'm thinking we see over eight runs here. I think the Padres also cover the first five run line. Back the over though as that's my favorite play here.

For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024