Angels vs Athletics – MLB Odds & Picks

• When: Monday, 3:40 PM ET
• Where: Oakland Coliseum
• Probable pitchers (away/home): Griffin Canning/Chris Bassitt   
• TV: MLB Extra Innings
• Stream/gameday audio: https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games/
• Opening MLB Lines: A’s -108, Angels -102 (9)

The Angels signed Anthony Rendon to a 7-year, $245 million deal this past winter, after Rendon hit .319/.412/.598 with 34 home runs and an NL-best 126 RBIs last year for the Nats. However, Rendon has been dealing with a sore oblique since being scratched from an intrasquad game on July 17 and hasn’t played since. Not clear as of this writing if he will Monday. Not looking likely.

“You don’t want to bring him back early and lose him for the whole year either,” Manager Joe Maddon said. “It’s pretty much listening to the medical guys.”

It’s Griffin Canning on the mound for the Halos. He made 18 appearances (17 starts) in rookie season last year, going 5-6 with a 4.58 ERA (90.1 IP – 46 ER) and 96 strikeouts. He set an Angels record with 69 strikeouts through his first 12 career MLB games, games, breaking the previous mark of 65 by Jered Weaver. Canning also broke Weaver’s record with 77 strikeouts through 14 career games.

Canning held opponents to a .184 average (9/49) against his curveball. He also kept opposing hitters to a .167 (22/132) average during first time through batting order in a game. Canning was one of four players in A.L. history with 5+ strikeouts in each of his first nine career games, joining Masahiro Tanaka (first 11 games in 2014), Herb Score (first 10 games in 1955) and Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez (first nine games in 1998).

Canning fired six scoreless innings with five strikeouts in an exhibition start against the Padres last Monday. Canning allowed just three hits and walked two. The 24-year-old battled elbow trouble in the first version of spring training, but is now healthy and reminded that he was considered one of the better pitching prospects in baseball coming into the 2019 season.

Canning, who received a platelet-rich plasma injection in his right elbow in early March after making just one spring training start, had great command against San Diego. Canning was also efficient, needing 76 pitches to get through his six frames. Of his 76 pitches, he got 15 called strikes and eight swinging strikes.

Canning said the key was finding a new routine in between innings, as he’s now using a vibrating heating sleeve on his elbow to keep it warm.

“I’m just keeping it warm in between innings so it’s not just sitting there and tightening up,” Canning said. “It’s just something I have to continue to manage and continue to find that routine that works for me. But it was definitely a step in the right direction finding that kind of thing that I can do between innings.”

The A’s got some bad news on the eve of the season when lefty pitcher A.J. Puk required a cortisone shot in his sore left shoulder. Puk was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left shoulder strain and A’s manager Bob Melvin told reporters that Puk would be out “for a while.” Puk is a highly-touted prospect but has battled injuries since being drafted in 2016 and it’s quite possible he doesn’t play at all this year.

It sure doesn’t feel this way, but it’s the 10^th season in charge of the A’s for Melvin, a tenure that has included five postseason appearances and two American League Manager of the Year awards. No other active manager has a longer uninterrupted tenure with their current team.

It’s journeyman right-hander Chris Bassitt on the mound. He might not have been in the 2020 rotation if not for injuries to Puk and Jesus Luzardo (positive coronavirus test and opens the season as a reliever).

He was supposed to be a bullpen guy last year as well, but an injury plague pushed him into the rotation. Bassitt knows all about staying ready and has become expert at swinging back and forth between pitching roles, making him an especially valuable asset in a season of uncertainty.

Bassitt saw the most extensive action of his five-year career last year, going 10-5 with a 3.81 ERA and .229 opponents’ batting average in 28 games, including 25 starts. He led the A’s with 141 strikeouts.

“He showed he’s a real weapon last year,” Melvin said of Bassitt. “It wasn’t an easy role. He had to acclimate to it. All guys that were starters want to be starters. They want that routine.”

In his final summer camp warm-up start last week, Bassitt was in complete command during his four innings against the San Francisco Giants, allowing a run on two hits with five strikeouts.

“He was throwing everything well,” Melvin said. “He had good command of his fastball. He was effective with the big, slow curveball. We really didn’t even get to his pitch count, which means he’s efficient and commanding the baseball with all of his pitches.”