Late Night MLB Betting – Oakland Athletics vs. Los Angeles Angels

The Oakland Athletics made short work of the heavily touted Seattle Mariners in their opening series, while the Los Angeles Angels had plenty of trouble keeping pace with the powerful Minnesota Twins. The Angels are favored at -170 to win April series with Oakland, but tonight’s game will be overshadowed by tragedy.

When the Angels return home, it will be with heavy hearts. Tonight will mark the anniversary of the shocking loss of Nick Adenhart, the 22-year old pitching prodigy that began his pro career with plenty of hope. The last game that Adenhart every played was against the Oakland Athletics. That night he died of fatal injuries sustained in a car accident after the 6-4 loss to Oakland.

Matt Palmer will get the start for the Angels in what is sure to be an emotional night. Palmer, who went 11-2 SU with a 3.93 ERA in 40 appearances last season, played a few nights ago as a relief pitcher for two innings. Any rust will be surely gone, and the Angels should have all sorts of faith in him. At home, Palmer went 6-1 SU with a 3.75 ERA last season.

Oakland Athletics (3-1) vs. Los Angeles Angels (1-3)
Friday, April 9th — Angel Stadium — 10:05pm EST
MLB Betting Lines:
Gio Gonzalez – L +1.5 -170 +115 O 9.0 -110
Matt Palmer – R -1.5 +150 -135 U 9.0 -110

It will be hard for Oakland to overcome the everything that will be going on in the stadium tonight. They need to build on their sudden success against the Mariners, because we all know how quickly things in Oakland can fall apart. A stiffer bullpen is part of what will make the A’s more successful this year, and Gio Gonzalez is going to be one of those guys that makes or breaks this team.

Where To Watch: CSCA, FSW

This will be Gonzalez’s first start in a major league game, and throwing him to the wolves in such an emotionally fraught contest isn’t exactly fair. Anaheim will be far too motivated to play tonight in Adenhart’s name and they’ll continue a 4-0 SU winning streak against the A’s that stretches back to last October.

Oakland may have had some early luck against Seattle, but it’s too early in the season to start lumping in on the bandwagon. Anaheim has always bullied the A’s and it’s dumb to bet on anything else happening, especially tonight.

Furious Free Pick: Angels RL and ML (UNDER)