Athletics vs Angels Expert Picks and Betting Guide – 9/5/2025

Athletics

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Los Angeles Angels

On September 5, 2025, the Los Angeles Angels will host the Oakland Athletics at Angel Stadium for the first game of their series. Both teams are underperforming this season, with the Angels sitting at 66-74 and the Athletics at 64-77. Despite their struggles, Los Angeles has an edge in this matchup, largely due to their starting pitcher, Jose Soriano, who ranks as the 25th best starting pitcher in MLB according to advanced stats.

Soriano projects to pitch 5.6 innings, allowing 2.4 earned runs on average. With a Win/Loss record of 10-9 and a respectable ERA of 3.68, he brings stability to the Angels’ rotation. In contrast, the Athletics will counter with Mason Barnett, a pitcher who has faced challenges this season. Barnett’s lone start resulted in a 0-1 record and an alarming ERA of 11.25, signaling he has struggled significantly on the mound.

While the Angels offense ranks 22nd overall, they are potent when it comes to power, sitting 5th in home runs this season. With 195 home runs so far, they can capitalize on Barnett’s tendency to allow fly balls. Meanwhile, the Athletics possess a strong offense, ranked 8th overall and boasting the 5th best batting average in MLB. However, they also share issues in their bullpen, ranked last at 30th.

In their last outings, both teams have been lackluster, but the Angels are favored today with a moneyline of -150, suggesting they have a solid chance to convert their talent into victory. Given Soriano’s efficiency and the Angels’ power potential, they could very well exceed their projected team total of 4.89 runs against a struggling Barnett and a weak Athletics bullpen.

Athletics Insights

• Mason Barnett – Over/Under Pitching Outs
  Taking into account both his underlying tendencies and the matchup, Mason Barnett is projected to throw 82 pitches in today’s outing by the leading projection system (THE BAT X) system, which is the 6th-least of all pitchers on the slate today.
  Explain: Pitchers who throw relatively few pitches are more likely to get pulled from the game earlier, record fewer outs, and generate fewer strikeouts.
• Lawrence Butler – Over/Under 0.5 Hits (-165/+125)
  Lawrence Butler has primarily hit in the top-half of the batting order this season (83% of the time), but he is projected to bat 6th in the batting order today.
  Explain: The lower in the order a player bats, the fewer plate appearances he will get and the fewer opportunities he will get to hit the Over for every market. A player who hits lower in the order than he normally does may provide extra value opportunity since the market may be based on him hitting higher.
• Brent Rooker – Over/Under 1.5 Total Bases (+120/-155)
  According to the leading projection system (THE BAT X), Brent Rooker ranks as the 15th-best hitter in the league.
  Explain: THE BAT X is a highly sophisticated projection system that accounts for a multitude of factors and regularly tests among the most accurate systems available.

Los Angeles Angels Insights

• Jose Soriano – Over/Under 5.5 Strikeouts (+100/-130)
  Jose Soriano has relied on his four-seamer 5.3% less often this season (8.5%) than he did last year (13.8%).
  Explain: Fastballs are the one easiest pitches to hit and generate few strikeouts, so a pitcher who begins to use his fastball lessoften will likely be more effective than he used to be.
• Luis Rengifo – Over/Under 0.5 Total Bases (-195/+150)
  Luis Rengifo has been cold in recent games, with his seasonal exit velocity of 87.6-mph dropping to 81.6-mph in the last two weeks’ worth of games.
  Explain: Hitting the ball hard increases the chances of either a home run or the ball landing in fair territory for a hit before a fielder can get to it.
• Per the leading projection system (THE BAT X), the team with the most strikeout-heavy lineup today is the Los Angeles Angels with a 26.8% underlying K%.
  Explain: THE BAT X analyzes each player in today’s specific lineup to figure out which teams have the most inherent strikeout potential for the opposing pitcher.

Betting Trends

• Los Angeles Angels – Run Line -1.5 (+135)
  The Los Angeles Angels have hit the Run Line in 66 of their last 111 games (+14.00 Units / 10% ROI)
• Athletics – Moneyline (+130)
  The Athletics have hit the Moneyline in 32 of their last 60 games (+9.75 Units / 15% ROI)
• Bryce Teodosio – Over/Under 0.5 Hits (-145/+115)
  Bryce Teodosio has hit the Hits Under in 13 of his last 20 games (+6.00 Units / 28% ROI)