Angels vs. Blue Jays Friday MLB odds, props: Trade acquisition Lucas Giolito makes L.A. debut, Shohei Ohtani expected in lineup after being lifted Thursday

It's way too early to know if the Los Angeles Angels made the right decision to go all-in for the playoffs this year, hoping that a postseason appearance will convince superstar Shohei Ohtani to re-sign this winter. So far, so good, though, and new addition Lucas Giolito will make his Angels debut tonight in Toronto, which is a heavy favorite at Caesars Sportsbook. Ohtani is expected to start at DH despite leaving the second game of Thursday's double-header in Detroit early.

That the Angels started 7-3 out of the break clearly was the decider on whether to keep Ohtani and become a trade deadline buyer or dump him in sell mode and rebuild one of MLB's worst farm systems with a prospect haul. It will be a disaster if the Halos don't make the playoffs because they paid a lot (two of their top prospects) to get Giolito and reliever Reynaldo Lopez from the White Sox, both of whom will be free agents this winter.

ESPN's Buster Olney has a great piece on the Angels' thinking on Ohtani and not to sleep on them convincing him to re-sign because he likes "predictable structure," and the Halos essentially let him do whatever he wants and don't ask him for much off-the-field stuff.

Giolito (6-6, 3.79 ERA) threw five shutout innings against the Twins last Sunday in a no-decision, his final start for Chicago. The White Sox had lost four of his starts in a row, but he pitched well in three of them. Since the start of June, Giolito has given up more than two earned runs in a start only twice. On July 4 in Chicago, the right-hander allowed two runs over six in a no-decision against Toronto, which also had been keeping tabs on Giolito.

There are some concerning splits on him, however. In Chicago this year, Giolito had a 2.44 ERA, 5.8 walk percentage, .240 opponents' OBP and .335 opponents' slugging. Anywhere else, his numbers are 10.6, .362 and .522, respectively. But Giolito has pitched well against the best AL teams with a 2.60 ERA in 11 starts this season against Junior Circuit clubs over .500 (not including the Angels).

For tonight, he is +240 to get a win and -340 to not opposite Jays ace Kevin Gausman. Giolito is set at over/under 18.5 outs record, 5.5 strikeouts, 1.5 walks (his bugaboo) and 3.5 earned runs. Since the Angels were in Detroit when the deal went down, Giolito waited for the club in Toronto.

As for Ohtani, he all but won the AL MVP award on Thursday – now priced -10000. He was going to win it anyway, but he essentially clinched his second MVP with an historic doubleheader in Detroit as the Halos impressively swept to get within three games of the final AL wild card spot -- it truly seemed like the trade for Giolito and Lopez energized the team. 

In Game 1, Ohtani threw his first MLB complete-game shutout when he originally wasn't scheduled to pitch Thursday. He was moved up from Friday (Jays had to be thrilled) when Wednesday's game was rained out. In Game 2, Ohtani homered twice to extend his MLB-leading total to 38. He became the first player to throw a shutout and homer twice on the same day since Boston's Sonny Seibert on Sept. 2, 1971 (who did so in the same game).

Ohtani did leave Game 2 with cramps, which is understandable after playing back-to-back games on a hot summer day, but it's not expected to be an issue Friday. Ohtani is +340 to hit another homer. He hasn't had any career success off Gausman (7-5, 3.18 ERA), going 0-for-6 with four Ks.

Toronto holds the AL's final wild card and was off Thursday, having just wrapped up a solid 3-3 West Coast trip to the Mariners and Dodgers. The Jays absolutely will be buying ahead of Tuesday's deadline. Gausman has been vastly better at home this year at 2-1 with a 2.58 ERA in nine starts. He missed the Angels in Anaheim in the first half. 

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