The Daily Sweat: Shohei Ohtani starts on the mound for Angels, and they need him

The Los Angeles Angels presumably still have at least another year left with Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout, but the story being written isn't a great one.

Trout is one of the greatest players we've ever seen (here are his MVP finishes if we discount his rookie season and last year when he was injured: 2, 2, 1, 2, 1, 4, 2, 1, 5), and Ohtani is the reigning AL MVP who is unlike anyone outside of Babe Ruth in baseball history. To have both of them together on the same team is remarkable.

And the Angels can't win with two of the biggest superstars the sport can possibly produce.

The Angels are in the middle of another disappointing season at 37-45, having fired manager Joe Maddon after a long losing streak, and they would need a surge to make the playoffs. Perhaps Ohtani can spark something on Wednesday.

Ohtani is pitching on Wednesday against the Miami Marlins, and the Angels are -160 favorites at BetMGM.

Ohtani is having another fine season on the mound, with a 2.68 ERA, but it hasn't mattered that much to the Angels. The Angels are 7-6 in his starts. Because the Angels are often favored when he starts, he has been a losing pitcher for bettors. Those betting $100 on the Angels in all of Ohtani's starts would be down $142, according to Covers.com. That mark ranks Ohtani 128th among starting pitchers.

The Angels haven't been a good bet for weeks, and they're a significant favorite on the road. One reason to pause on betting the Marlins is their starter, Trevor Rogers, has been one of the biggest disappointments in MLB this season. But it's also not comfortable betting on the great Ohtani, and that is fairly damning of the Angels organization.

Here's a first look at the sports betting slate on Wednesday:

Anything but baseball to bet on?

It's summer, so not really. There are three WNBA games, but none feature two winning teams against each other. The Chicago Sky are 2.5-point favorites at the Minnesota Lynx, and that's your marquee game if you want some basketball action. There's not much else of note on the board, as is the norm in July.

What other baseball games do we have?

We do get four afternoon games. The Minnesota Twins vs. Chicago White Sox is the best game, and the Twins are an enticing -105 favorite. They're 47-37, in first place of the AL Central and still flying under the radar.

Beware betting on the Toronto Blue Jays as a -185 favorite at the Oakland A's; Oakland isn't good but Blue Jays starter Jose Berrios is having a rough season and can't be trusted.

The Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox square off again, with the Rays as a +105 underdog. The Rays are usually a pretty good play when they get a plus number.

What's the best bet?

Let's go with the Twins. At some point they'll start to get a little more respect, but bettors know they're having a really fine season.