UPDATE: Brent Suter has been named the starter for the Angels. He has not pitched more than 3.2 innings in any appearance this season.

It’s too early to glean anything about how the rest of the MLB season might play out, but one trend that Los Angeles Angels fans — and baseball fans in general — surely hope is sustainable is Mike Trout’s recent form. The future Hall of Famer currently leads the American League in runs and ranks ninth in WAR, a positive early-season display given the injuries that he’s dealt with over the last five seasons.

But much like during the prime of his career, the Angels aren’t good, sitting at just 9-10. They haven’t finished with a winning season since 2015. Los Angeles will hope to salvage a series split and get back to .500 at 1:35 p.m. ET, when it takes on the New York Yankees.

For the series finale, Max Fried will start for the Yankees, and while the Angels haven’t officially named a starter yet, newly-recalled Sam Aldegheri seems the most likely to crest the hill.

Let’s break down this matchup with some odds and lines at DraftKings Sportsbook.

Los Angeles Angels at New York Yankees prediction, preview

Relative to expectations, Los Angeles has had the more impressive season so far, as New York — fresh off of a pennant in 2024 and an AL Division Series appearance in 2025 — sits at just 10-8. The Angels rank in the top 10 in OPS after finishing eighth-to-last last season, in part because of Trout’s rebound. The Yankees, meanwhile, currently rank eighth-to-last in that stat after leading the league last season, with Aaron Judge getting off to a slow start (by his standards). New York’s pitching staff has been elite so far, while Los Angeles’, while no longer third-to-last in ERA like it was last season, is still a bottom-10 unit. The Angels’ balky bullpen has been a major problem in this series, as Jordan Romano blew save opportunities on both Monday and Wednesday. It could be a blessing in disguise that Romano will almost certainly not pitch; all other players with at least five relief appearances have an ERA better than 5.00.

While Suter will open for somewhere between one and three innings, it’s likely that Aldegheri will also see significant innings as a bulk reliever. He wasn’t good in his two starts and two long relief appearances last season, pitching to a 7.90 ERA in 13.2 innings and picking up a pair of losses. He’s also been shelled in three starts with Triple-A Salt Lake City, recording a pair of losses and giving up 16 earned runs in 13.1 innings of work. In his 2025 starts, he did one thing well, as he’d have ranked in the top decile in hard-hit rate if he’d pitched enough innings to qualify. While he might be able to keep it in the ballpark against a team that ranks in the top four in barrel rate, hard-hit rate, and average exit velocity so far this season, the Yankees have plenty of other counters. They constantly rank among the league’s leaders in walks and chase rate. New York was also somewhat better against left-handed pitchers last season, thanks to Judge having a career 1.062 OPS against southpaws. Los Angeles’ bullpen could be in for a long afternoon.

Fried’s pedigree could hardly stand in starker contrast to those of the players who will oppose him. Thrice he’s finished in the top five in Cy Young Award voting, including a fourth-place finish last season, and he’s off to another strong start in 2026, leading the American League with 28.0 innings pitched and giving up just six earned runs while walking five and striking out 20. While he doesn’t throw very hard and has struggled to induce whiffs, he’s exhibited excellent control and has done a great job limiting hard contact, the Angels — who have had the fifth-highest barrel rate and the sixth-highest whiff rate — sport somewhat of a boom-or-bust offense. They also lead the league in walks but rank second in strikeouts so far. They could be effective if they manage to consistently put the ball in play, given that the Yankees have been a below-average defense so far, but their struggles to find the launch-angle sweet spot means any contact should be easier for New York’s defenders to handle.

Los Angeles Angels at New York Yankees pick, best bet

Best Bet: New York Yankees -1.5 (-136)

Even with the Yankees’ offensive inconsistency, they should always win comfortably as long as Fried is on the mound. His strengths align with Los Angeles’ and vice versa, but he’s a savvy veteran capable of damage control against any offense. The Angels could definitely struggle in Aldegheri’s innings especially.

Strong Lean: O0.5 First Inning Runs (-115)

This is effectively a bet on Judge to treat Suter poorly in his opening at-bat, given that Suter mostly throws his four-seam fastball to right-handed batters and Judge has a 2.000 slugging percentage against left-handed four-seamers so far this season. If Judge can’t, though, Trent Grisham or Cody Bellinger can. Plus, while it’s not quite as likely, Zach Neto, Trout, and Nolan Schanuel can get to Fried.