The Los Angeles Angels (9-9) host the San Francisco Giants (13-6) on Friday, April 18. First pitch from Angel Stadium is scheduled for 9:38 p.m. ET; the game will be broadcast on MLB Network.
Logan Webb and Tyler Anderson will both take the ball amidst some solid starts to 2025, but it’s the man with the negative WAR who actually holds the best so-called “peripherals” heading into this one.
Find my Giants vs Angels prediction and preview below, as well as probable pitchers, betting trends and more.
Tail This Pick at BetMGMGiants vs Angels Prediction
- Giants vs Angels pick: Angels Moneyline +130 (Play to +100)
My Giants vs Angels best bet is the Angels moneyline. Make sure to find the best odds by checking our live MLB odds page.
Giants vs Angels Odds
Friday, April 18
9:38 p.m. ET
MLB Network
Giants OddsSpreadTotalMoneyline-1.5
+105
8
-110o / -110u
-154
Angels OddsSpreadTotalMoneyline+1.5
-126
8
-110o / -110u
+130
Giants vs Angels Projected Starting Pitchers
RPH Logan Webb (SF)StatLHP Tyler Anderson (LAA)2-0W-L1-00.7fWAR (FanGraphs)-0.12.63/3.35ERA /xERA2.87/3.822.25/2.48FIP / xFIP5.68/5.211.13WHIP1.1520.4K-BB%7.752.5GB%30.8103Stuff+100101Location+94
Ducey’s Giants vs Angels Preview
Giants Betting Preview: Can Webb Carry the Load?
After a topsy-turvy 2024 campaign where Webb took a clear step back from his dominant form, the righty has been effective through four starts in 2025.
He’s utilized his sweeper a bit more to take his strikeout rate all the way up to a career-best 28%, and while he’s walked more batters, his numbers are still comfortably better than the league average.
I’m still not quite sold that this is the old Webb, however. His ground-ball rate has once again dropped for a third year — and while that’s not the worst thing in the world given lower big-league numbers against fly-ball types and a friendly home park, it’s not as if there aren’t some concerns.
Webb’s sinker has not only remained a liability, it’s gotten even worse. He’s produced a .319 Expected Batting Average and .389 Expected Slugging Percentage on his primary offering, which aren’t only well above his results, but considerably higher than his 2024 totals.
He’s getting more whiffs on the sweeper and changeup, but all it’ll take is an offense that can put the ball in play to give him some issues.
It’s early, and it’s not as if Webb’s numbers have been dreadful, so it’s too early to make any firm judgments about him.
Having said that, his infield ranks 20th in Outs Above Average, which would point to his numbers eventually creeping closer to his expected marks.
Angels Betting Preview: Anderson Under Microscope
What do you get for going 1-0 with a 2.87 ERA through three outings as a seasoned, reliable veteran arm? You get to wake up and see that Fangraphs thinks you’re worth negative wins.
It’s cool when Dylan Ceasewalks every batter he faces and gives up 30 tanks, but it’s not as cool when Anderson does it.
That’s really the only reason this evaluation metric is so sour on Anderson. fWAR is based solely around FIP, which is calculated by FanGraphs by punishing home runs and weighing walks against strikeouts.
Strikeouts and infield pop-ups count the same, to boot, and while Anderson has put up a quite solid 23.1% K-rate his pop-up rate is down three points to 5.1%, which is its lowest since 2019 — when he threw just 428 pitches.
This rant is just a way to show you that Anderson’s fWAR is a bit deceiving here, and while it should eventually correct itself as we gather a larger sample, it’s also not an indictment of his performance, rather his one weakness.
Separating contact from strikeouts and walks is key to handicapping matchups on a daily basis; it’s not as simple as looking at the same two or three numbers to make a quick decision.
With all that said, there’s so much to like here with Anderson’s start. He’s pitched to a tidy .200 xBA and is 10 points better than average in xSLG.
The walks are once again a concern — as they’ve been for the past three years now — but Anderson has never pitched to more strikeouts and also hasn’t had an xSLG under .400 since 2022.
Giants vs Angels Prediction, Betting Analysis
The Giants are walking at a decent-enough clip to have faith that they can exploit Anderson’s great weakness, but against lefties, they’re just 26th, with a 6.6% walk rate, in the early going.
This was also a team that walked at one of the lowest rates in the second half of last year with similar — if not better — personnel in that category. It also owns the third-worst strikeout rate in baseball this year, which has only increased against southpaws.
On the flip side, the Angels have been striking out in bunches but rank 11th in OPS to ground-ballers and have the fourth-lowest whiff rate in baseball against changeups from righties.
This is a crucial bit of info because Webb is getting his most whiffs on the change, and he’s also used it as his primary put-away pitch and has used his sweeper the least in these situations.
That would lead me to believe there’s plenty of hope here that the Angels can slow Webb’s roll in the strikeout department and bring him back down to Earth with some menacing power numbers and consistent damage whenever they do make contact.
The arm they’ll turn to here should also look plenty effective, with San Francisco’s struggles against lefties and his friendly numbers beneath the surface.
The Angels are being very overlooked here.
Pick: Angels ML +130
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Moneyline
We’re tracking big money coming in on San Francisco here, but the sharps are on the Angels. It would be L.A.’s first win in five games.
Run Line (Spread)
The Giants have covered the run line in four of their last seven games, but they’re just 4-4 this season as favorites, while the Angels have covered two of three times as home underdogs.
Over/Under
San Francisco is 14-5 to the over this year, but as favorites, that mark is just 4-4. L.A. has played to the under four times in its last five, and that’s likely why sharps are hitting that side of the total here.
Giants vs Angels Betting Trends
- 89% of bets and 95% of the money are on the Giants moneyline
- 99% of bets and 94% of the money are on the game total to go OVER
- 89% of bets and 85% of the money are on the Giants to cover the spread (-1.5)
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