The Los Angeles Angels topped the Chicago White Sox by a run last night, but they didn’t plate the go-ahead scorer until the ninth inning. These teams will do battle again tonight with Shohei Ohtani on the mound. Let’s dive into the White Sox-Angels odds as we make our predictions and pick the best MLB bet!
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Best MLB White Sox-Angels Betting Pick & Prediction: Play This NRFI/YRFI Angle
White Sox-Angels Odds
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook
White Sox: +150 | Angels: -205
Over 8.5: -105 | Under 8.5: -115
NRFI: -115 | YRFI: -110
The Angels will start superstar two-way player and RHP Shohei Ohtani (6-3) tonight. Ohtani owns an elite 3.13 ERA and 3.33 xERA across 89 innings pitched this season. He is allowing batters to hit only .179 against him. Ohtani’s 11.8 K/9 ranks second in the MLB. He’ll take on RHP Michael Kopech (3-6), whose 4.06 ERA and 4.99 xERA have ticked down as the season has progressed. Kopech owned a miserable 7.01 ERA at the start of May. His 10.3 K/9 may not be as impressive as Ohtani’s, but it’s nothing to scoff at, either.
Although Ohtani gives L.A. an edge on the mound, that isn’t where the Angels have their biggest advantage. They rank fifth in expected-weighted on-base average, or xwOBA, at .338. In contrast, the White Sox rank a dismal 29th at .303. Chicago’s offense has even managed to underperform that rock-bottom number, as the team owns a weighted on-base average of only .296. That said, almost all of L.A.’s advantage in the metric stems from strong play by Ohtani (4.17 xwOBA) and Mike Trout (.391 xwOBA).
I want action on the no runs first inning (NRFI) line for this game. I bought the NRFI for yesterday’s matchup, but that missed because Luis Robert Jr. hit a home run with two outs, one ball and two strikes. The Angels then went scoreless in the first, and the White Sox proceeded to score zero runs for the rest of the game. How kind.
Although betting on the NRFI line when Ohtani and Trout are so early in the batting order for L.A. feels risky, the Angels have gone scoreless in 75% of their first innings. The White Sox have gone scoreless in 77.5% of theirs. These teams combine for a scoreless first 52.5% of the time, but with these pitchers on the mound, I project a slightly lower number for this matchup.
Let’s lock in the NRFI at -115 (53.5%) via DraftKings Sportsbook. New to DraftKings? Get $150 in bonus bets after you place a $5 wager by registering here!
Best White Sox-Angels MLB Pick: NRFI -115 at DraftKings
