Angels vs Athletics Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for Opening Day (Ohtani Continues Dominance Over Oakland)

The 2023 MLB season kicks off with an Opening Day matchup between the Los Angeles Angels and the Oakland Athletics at Oakland Coliseum. The two AL West rivals will look to get their seasons started off right with this west coast evening matchup.

Angels vs Athletics Game Info

• Date: Thursday, March 30, 2023
• Time: 10:07 p.m. ET
• Venue: Oakland Coliseum – Oakland, CA
• Coverage: Fox Sports West

The Angels will have Shoehei Ohtani on the mound, fresh off a World Baseball Classic championship with Japan. Kyle Muller will be on the other side for the A's. Ohtani is coming off his best season ever as a pitcher, going 15-9 with a 2.33 ERA and 219 strikeouts in just 166 innings pitched.

Angels vs Athletics Odds & Spread

• All MLB betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: LAA: (-235) | OAK: (+194)
• Spread: LAA: -1.5 (-120) | OAK: +1.5 (+100)
• Total: 7 -- Over: (-118) | Under: (-104)

The Angels enter this AL West matchup as road favorites on the spread and moneyline at FanDuel Sportsbook. This game also has a projected total of 7 runs, which is on the lower side for Thursday's games.

Angels vs Athletics Betting Trends

• The Angels are 1-3 straight up in Shoehei Ohtani's last three starts.
• The total has hit the under in seven of the Angels' last 10 games against Oakland.
• Oakland is 3-6 straight up in its last nine games against the Angels.
• The total has hit the under in five of Oakland's last six games against the Angels.

Angels vs Athletics Prediction & Pick

The Angels have arguably the best player and one of the best pitchers in baseball on the mound in this one, and he's coming off an incredible performance in the World Baseball Classic. He is flying high and his confidence should be through the roof. Going up against a dismal Oakland lineup shouldn't cause Ohtani any issues.

In four starts against the Athletics last season, Ohtani had a 1.09 ERA and held Oakland to a 1.67 batting average. There's no reason not to expect another performance just like that on Thursday.

Final Score Prediction: Angels: 6 | Athletics: 1

Angels vs Athletics Best Bet

With limited betting options on this one posted so far, we're going to stick with the runline here. Ohtani was lights out against Oakland last year and they made no serious improvements to their lineup that should pose a serious threat to the Japanese star. With Ohtani coming off some fantastic play against the best players the world has to offer, I doubt he gives up a run. Los Angeles' offense should be able to clear this line with ease.

Bet: Los Angeles Angels -1.5 (-120)

David Kaestle is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, David also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username davekaestle. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.