The Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Angels had a fairly uneventful game on Tuesday. How will things look on Wednesday with a pair of young starters — Jose Soriano for the Angels and Slade Cecconi for the Diamondbacks — facing off?
I see some real value in the underdog taking a road victory here.
Let's take a look at why I'm backing the Angels as part of this Angels vs. Diamondbacks MLB single game parlay.
Remember to bet responsibly — this is a long shot for a reason.
Angels vs Diamondbacks MLB Parlay: Wednesday SGP
- Corbin Carroll 2+ Total Bases (+100)
- Jose Soriano 5+ Strikeouts (+110)
- Angels ML (+110)
Parlay Odds: +700 (FanDuel)
Corbin Carroll
2+ Total Bases (+100)
I'm not looking at the Diamondbacks for the game, but it doesn't mean I can't find an avenue to add an Arizona prop to my SGP.
We'll look at Corbin Carroll in this matchup.
It took time, but the 2023 Rookie of the Year winner seems to have busted his sophomore slump. He hit below .200 for the first two months of the year, but he's now sitting around .210.
In the past two weeks, Carroll is hitting over .300 with a .403 OBP. His slugging still isn't anything special at .434, but he's making harder contact and looks confident for the first time all year.
I could see Carroll putting a couple of balls in play against Joel Soriano — a hard-throwing sinker-ball pitcher — and using his speed to reach base safely. I want to capitalize on Carroll's props before he goes ballistic for a lengthy period and books decide to price him like a superstar again.
Carroll recorded three hits in Tuesday's win over the Angels. He showed off his ability to get hits in different ways, using his speed to turn an 88-mph exit velocity blooper into a double and hit a ball 354 feet with a 106-mph exit velocity for a triple.
His dynamism makes his total base props especially interesting.
Jose Soriano
5+ Strikeouts (+110)
There have been a number of hard-throwing relievers turning into starters this year, and Soriano is one of the success stories.
Good things don't typically happen for the Angels, so Soriano developing into a possible front-rotation arm is a breath of fresh air. The 25-year-old starter owns a 3.64 ERA with a 3.87 xERA and 3.85 FIP in 64.1 innings.
How will he fare against the Diamondbacks? They have an offense that strikes out the ninth-fewest among MLB teams.
Despite that, I see Soriano tallying five-plus strikeouts. Four of the Diamondbacks' likely starters on Wednesday strikeout on 25% or more of their at-bats (Blaze Alexander, Joc Pederson, Christian Walker and Eugenio Suarez).
You can likely count on a strikeout from at least a couple of those players, and possibly multiple strikeouts from some. If Soriano goes five or six innings, it's hard to envision him falling short of five strikeouts.
It's a decent time to buy Soriano after a pair of low-strikeout performances against the Padres and Mariners. While Soriano struck out just four total in his past two starts, it came after whiffing five-plus in the previous four starts.
Soriano is a flamethrower, averaging over 98 mph on his fastball with a knuckle curve to catch hitters off guard.
Angels
ML +110 vs. Diamondbacks
Just one night after the Angels took a beating from the Diamondbacks, I'm looking at L.A. to bounce back.
I'm looking to fade Diamondbacks starter Slade Cecconi, who owns a 5.66 ERA in 41.1 innings with a 5.77 FIP.
Cecconi doesn't generate many swings and misses, ranking in the second percentile in chase rate, fourth percentile in whiff rate, and 15th percentage in strikeout rate. While Cecconi throws strikes, it haunts him at times with home run issues. He's surrendered 10 homers in just eight appearances, and the ball tends to fly at Chase Field.
Not only is Cecconi mediocre, he's by far the worst starter in this game. I love backing Soriano at plus money, even on the road against a better team.
The Angels' lineup lacks star power with Mike Trout's injury, but Los Angeles is holding up without the future Hall of Famer. Six of the Angels' everyday starters own wRC+'s above 100.
Kevin Pillar has been a pillar of the Angels' success, posting a 209 wRC+ in 25 games.
Keep an eye on Taylor Ward's status for Wednesday's game. He leads the team with 12 home runs and left Tuesday's game early due to back tightness. If Ward can't suit up, he'll leave the Angels with less power in the upper half of the lineup.
I'm still not concerned about whether Ward plays or not, though, as the advantage the Angels boast in the pitching matchup at +110 is the angle to get the SGP to +700.
