MLB wagering favors the New York Yankees on Thursday as they host the Los Angeles Angels in the finale of a three-game series. The Yankees have started the season strongly in baseball wagering while the Angels have struggled. MLB wagering on the Yankees almost always has them as big favorites. In home games there is a chance New York will be favored in every game this season. Even when the fifth starter goes at home the Yankees are going to be favored. The Yankees have done quite well in recent games against the Angels and that could be the case here even though Los Angeles is going with Scott Kazmir.
He will be making his first start of the season on Thursday. He might be a welcome addition to a staff that had allowed a Major League-high 11 home runs entering Sunday’s game against the A’s. Manager Mike Scioscia was not worried though. “It happened last year, too, because you can take any little cross section of the season and say you gave up 10 home runs over this many games or you only averaged three runs over 10 games,” Scioscia said. “But everything is magnified at the beginning of the year and the end of the year.”
Los Angeles had a poor ERA to start the season but again, Scioscia was not concerned. “These statistics are naked right now,” Scioscia said. “So there are going to be some things when guys are getting hit around a little bit that are going to be ugly. We’ve given a lot of home runs, but we have some power arms that are going to go after hitters, and sometimes hitters are going to get a hold of it.”
Kazmir could provide a baseball wagering boost to the Angels. He missed the first part of the season due to a strained right hamstring. He pitched 6 1-3 innings for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga on Friday. “His last 10 pitches were all over 90 miles an hour so he maintained his velocity,” Scioscia said, “He showed a real good change-up, the slider wasn’t as consistent as we’ve seen it, but he had plenty on it to be able to pitch and do well.” Kazmir will be replacing Matt Palmer in the rotation. Palmer allowed seven runs in seven innings in Friday’s 10-4 defeat to the Oakland Athletics.
Before this series began, the Yankees had won 7 of the last 10 in MLB wagering against the Angels.