| LAS VEGAS -- The Angels, racking up wins in seven of their past eight games, have the best record in baseball and a 1.5-game lead over Oakland in the AL West, but they were dealt a major blow Wednesday when ace Garrett Richards injured his knee and may miss the rest of the season. Without Richards, the Angels rotation would look the least formidable of any in the AL playoffs, and the series prices would reflect it by about 35 cents. In reality, the Angels have been quite fortunate by having to use only six starters all season. Up to this point, their rotation has been relatively healthy with the exception of Tyler Skaggs. Now, big-money pitchers like Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson are going to have to take their game up a notch. Hector Santiago will have to dig deeper, and tonight’s starter Matt Shoemaker will also have be better. Shoemaker (11-4, 3.84 ERA) has unexpectedly turned himself into a valuable part of the Angels rotation. For bettors, he’s been the second most profitable Angels starter this season, as the team has gone 10-4 (+6.0 units) behind him (Richards is +10.5 units). That’s some pretty good stuff for a rookie who started his season out of the bullpen. Shoemaker is 5-1 with a 5.18 ERA in six road starts this season. The high ERA comes almost exclusively from a June start at Kansas City, where he gave up eight runs in four innings. In two road starts since then, he’s given up just two earned runs in each. And for whatever reason, the Angels bats like to mash when he’s on the mound – they’ve averaged 9.5 runs a game in his six road starts. The Red Sox have lost four straight, and a loss tonight would mark the sixth time this season they’ve been swept at home. Boston hasn’t resisted in the final game of a home series all season when on the verge of being swept. If the Angels win tonight, it would be their first four-game sweep at Fenway Park since 1962, the second year of the Angels franchise behind the likes of Dean Chance and Bo Belinsky. The pressure to be even better might be too much down the road for Shoemaker, but the Red Sox are bad enough right now, and he gets plenty of run support on the road, so laying -122 against Rubby De La Rosa (4-4, 3.79) is attractive. For two more picks on tonight's MLB card, check out the full story on The Linemakers on Sporting News. | 
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