I'm betting on the Athletics ML on Saturday at +120 odds. The A's have been playing better baseball lately, and Paul Blackburn is coming off an impressive month, while the Angels have fallen from grace.

In his five August outings, Blackburn posted a 2.35 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP, tallying 30 strikeouts in 30.1 innings. I predict he will continue to impress on Saturday at home, where he has performed his best in 2023. LA scored a lot of runs in their last two games against Philadelphia, but I don't expect that to continue in this series. Even with those high-scoring showings, the Angels hit just .222 BA/.279 OBP/.378 SLG/.657 OPS in August and averaged 3.8 runs per game. With another bat, Hunter Renfroe, no longer in the lineup, LA's offense is a good bet to fall short on the road in Oakland.

Griffin Canning has been a solid, but not spectacular arm for LA this season. He is coming off his longest start of the season (seven innings) but typically only lasts four or five innings. If he isn't on his A-game, one of those innings will be rocky for the visitors, who will then turn to a below-average bullpen (4.68 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP with 67 HR surrendered) to close out the game.

I'm betting on Blackburn to outlast and outpitch Canning, allowing the Oakland offense to squeak out a narrow victory.