Oakland Athletics @ Los Angeles Angels Matchup Preview - August 3rd, 2022

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Right-hander James Kaprielian is expected to start today for Oakland, while right-hander Shohei Ohtani gets the nod at home for Los Angeles. Kaprielian enters this contest with a 4.50 ERA, backed up by a 5.36 FIP (which is a better measure of the things a pitcher can control). Ohtani, meanwhile, has a 2.36 FIP underlying his 2.81 ERA. The last time James Kaprielian was on the bump, he recorded the win as the Athletics defeated the White Sox 7-3. He left allowing 1 earned run and recording 4 strikeouts with 1 walk. Ohtani's last start was against the Rangers, when he recorded the loss as the Angels were defeated 0-2. Over 6 innings pitched, he allowed 2 earned runs with 8 hits. He also recorded 11 strikeouts with 0 walks.

Oakland Athletics Insights

  • James Kaprielian has been given a shorter leash than the typical pitcher this year, throwing 6.1 fewer adjusted pitches-per-game than the average starting pitcher.

  • Jed Lowrie has primarily hit in the top-half of the lineup this season (95% of the time), but he is projected to hit 6th on the lineup card today.

  • Vimael Machin has a 94th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (37.9%) and will be challenged by the game's 10th-deepest LF fences today.

Los Angeles Angels Insights

  • It may come as a surprise, but fastballs are generally a pitcher's least effective pitch. Shohei Ohtani has used his non-fastballs 9.5% more often this season (65.4%) than he did last year (55.9%).

  • Jo Adell's average exit velocity has fallen off in recent games; his 87.2-mph seasonal EV has dropped to 78-mph over the last two weeks.

  • Projected catcher Max Stassi profiles as an elite pitch framer, via THE BAT projection system.

Betting Trends

  • The Los Angeles Angels have hit the 1st Five Innings (F5) Total Under in 47 of their last 85 games (+11.45 Units / 12% ROI)

  • The Oakland Athletics have hit the Game Total Under in 54 of their last 98 games (+10.95 Units / 10% ROI)

  • Jared Walsh has hit the Hits Under in 7 of his last 8 games at home (+8.35 Units / 103% ROI)