Rockies vs. Angels MLB Best Bet: Halos the Play in Anaheim

Money-Making Potential

As far as the playoff races go, it would be tough to find a more meaningless matchup as August begins than the series finale in Anaheim between the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Angels.

As far as the potential to make money, however, the matchup is as good as a clash between any of the division leaders. Maybe even better since the Rockies and Angels won’t attract nearly as much attention.

There’s also the fact that it’s a very short MLB betting card with just five games on the docket, so it’s not like we have a lot of options. Colorado sends Ryan Feltner (1-10, 4.99) to the mound against the Angels’ Carson Fulmer (0-2, 3.77), and Bookmaker has installed Los Angeles on a -125 chalk line with a 9-run total.

Series Notes & Rivalry History

Anaheim fans were happy to see their side win a 10-7 slugfest in Tuesday’s series opener, and bettors on the Angels were just as happy to cash -130 tickets. The Rockies were up 6-2 early but couldn’t hold the lead, and the Angels alone sent the game past a 9-run total.

Following that scoreboard buster, the two sides settled into a pitching duel on Wednesday when the Rockies evened the set with a 2-1 triumph. Brenton Doyle’s 18th home run of the season broke a 1-1 tie in the eighth to cash +125 tickets on Colorado.

This is one of those interleague rivalries that has seen the AL team dominate over the years with the Angels up 32-15 even after Wednesday’s defeat. Prior to Colorado’s 2-1 victory, the previous three meetings in Anaheim had gone ‘over’ the MLB odds.

Fulmer Likely Restricted to 80 Pitches

The middle of June was the last time the Rockies won a game started by Feltner, though it’s difficult to put much of the blame on the former Ohio State star for the current 6-game string of defeats when he takes the mound.

Feltner owned a sweet 2.51 ERA during his five July assignments but was victimized by impotent bats or shoddy bullpen work – or both. Four of those contests stayed ‘under’ the totals.

Life on the road has been pretty good for Feltner as far as his ERA goes. He sports a 4.14 mark away from Denver, nearly 2 runs lower than at Coors Field, but the Rockies have still won only 2 of those 12 games. This will be his first time to face the Angels.

Fulmer is making just his fourth start of the season after pitching the first 24 times out of the Anaheim bullpen. The last two came against the Athletics and were so-so at best as the former 1st-round pick out of Vanderbilt combined for 10.1 innings while allowing 6 runs. The Angels split those matchups, with the win as small underdogs at top sportsbooks.

Angels skipper Ron Washington yanked Fulmer at the 77-pitch mark in each of his three starts so far, including just before the All-Star break when he had a no-hitter going with 7 strikeouts in the fifth inning. Fulmer faced the Rockies once before, and that came in a 2021 relief role.

Umpire Notes & Mother Nature

Now in his second season as a part-timer, Jacob Metz will have the plate for Thursday’s tilt. He’s most recently been working games in the International League before being promoted to the majors in 2023 and is filling on for Alex Tosi on Dan Bellino’s crew.

Metz has worked the plate five times previously this season, and stands 2-3 O/U with the two 9-run totals each coming up short. He will be calling balls and strikes in Anaheim for the first time in his career.

More clouds than usual are expected in the Anaheim area on Thursday, but none are expected to bring any rain. It should be in the low-80s when Fulmer delivers the game’s first pitch, with a light southwest breeze (out to center).

The Pick

In a weak AL West, the Angels are still just 9-games out of first place despite being 14 games under .500. The Rockies have long been out of the NL West race and are locked in a battle with the Marlins for the second pick in next year’s draft behind the woeful White Sox.

This has been a bit of a disappointing homestand for the Angels who started matters by dropping 3 of 4 to the A’s last weekend, but the flip side is Colorado is horribly bad on the road, having gone 37-100 outside of Denver since the beginning of the 2023 campaign. That makes it a pretty easy play on the Halos.

MLB Pick: Angels ML (-122) at BetOnline

Angels ML (-122)

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*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.