Reds vs. Angels Monday MLB odds, props: Mike Trout poised to return for longshot playoff push

California is still dealing with the aftereffects of Tropical Storm Hilary, but tonight's Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles Angels series opener is on as of this writing. The weather itself in the L.A. area Monday nigvht looks fine, but it's a matter of flood damage. If the teams do play, signs point to the Angels activating superstar Mike Trout off the injured list as the team hopes for one last playoff push. The Halos are -125 favorites per SportsLine consensus.

The Angels had a rare Sunday off because their game against Tampa Bay was made into a doubleheader on Saturday, as were a few other California games, due to the storm. The team made a few roster moves on Sunday though, with the most notable one sending outfielder Jordyn Adams to Triple-A.

That clearly opens a spot for Trout, who has been out since July 3 with a wrist injury. It was reported over the weekend that he took swings in an indoor batting cage Saturday and was "very close to returning." The three-time AL MVP was batting .263 with 18 homers and 44 RBI in 81 games, good for a WAR of 2.9 that is still No. 2 on the team among hitters.

LA is 39-42 with Trout in the lineup and 22-22 without him this year. It's Hail Mary time for the Angels, who are 61-64 and 8.5 games out of the final AL wild card spot. The Angels are +4000 to play extra baseball and -20000 to miss the playoffs. There's no props available for Trout on Monday until his return is official. He has never faced Reds starter Graham Ashcraft (6-8, 4.89 ERA). These could be the final days of Trout and Shohei Ohtani being teammates.

The Angels improved the team a lot after Trout got hurt, including by trading for right-hander Lucas Giolito (7-9, 4.44 ERA), who is set to pitch Monday. Since joining Angels, though, Giolito is 1-3 with a 8.14 ERA in for starts spanning 21 innings. Just one of those four came in Anaheim, which was his lone win with the Angels (6 IP, 3 ER vs. Giants).

Giolito's only career start vs. the Reds came in 2018. Cincinnati also was looking at dealing for him ahead of the trade deadline. Giolito is set at over/under 6.5 strikeouts, 17.5 outs recorded, 4.5 hits and 2.5 earned runs, and is +185 to personally record a win. 

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