Dodgers Host Padres in Key MLB Betting Series
After adding a few new pieces to their team over the weekend, the Dodgers now have to get to work if they plan to catch Adrian Gonzalez and the Padres on top of the NL West Division standings.
The Los Angeles Dodgers brought in Ted Lilly, Ryan Theriot, Octavio Dotel and Scott Podsednik at the trade deadline to gear up for a playoff push in the National League West.
Smart moves? Maybe. For me, the acquisitions reek of desperation as the Dodgers fall from relevance in a division led by the still surprising San Diego Padres.
With the Dodgers (54-51 SU, -5.50 units) hanging on by a thread in the NL postseason picture, they host the Padres (61-42 SU, +22.41 units) in a four-game series at Dodger Stadium beginning on Monday night.
Look, I get there’s plenty of time remaining in the regular season, and that Los Angeles could realistically make a run at San Diego in the NL West or at San Francisco in the NL Wild Card chase.
Thing is, the Dodgers’ demise has been in the cards for months. L.A. has spent much of the season overperforming in the standings, and now the numbers are catching up to it.
The Dodgers currently trail the Pads by eight games in the division after their 2-0 loss to the Giants on Sunday night, and they’re lucky to be close. San Diego leads the NL with a +91 run differential, while Los Angeles is at only +5, good for 10th in the Senior Circuit.
Lilly and Dotel are good additions to the pitching staff, but what the Dodgers need is some pop in the lineup. Theriot is a fringe starter on a contender. Podsednik is a fourth outfielder at this point in his career.
Manny Ramirez (.309 BA/.409 OBP/.925 OPS/eight HRs) is still a serviceable hitter despite nearing the end of the line, but he’s played only 61 games this season and is currently on the 15-day disabled list with a right calf strain.
L.A. ranks 25th in home runs (78), and its offense is drying up at the wrong time. Heading into the week, the Dodgers were batting only .174 in their last 10 games.
Los Angeles needed to make moves along the lines of what San Diego did at the deadline. Only 25th in team BA (.251) and 26th in team OPS (.698), the Padres picked up Ryan Ludwick and Miguel Tejada to bolster the offense.
Ludwick and Tejada aren’t huge names, but San Diego only needs minor tweaking considering it’s the top team on the MLB moneylist. The Friars are also the most profitable wager on the road, where they’re up +14.81 units with a 28-20 SU record.
It wouldn’t surprise me if San Diego took three of four from L.A. this week. The one spot I’d look to play the Dodgers – if the betting odds price is low enough – is for Thursday night’s series finale (10:10 p.m. ET) when Chad Billingsley (9-5, 3.78 ERA) takes the ball.
Billingsley has a 21 2-3-inning scoreless streak going – a span of three starts – to lead a Los Angeles starting rotation that’s posted a 1.39 ERA in its last 10 games. That includes six innings of shutout baseball in the Dodgers’ 2-0 win at San Diego last Tuesday.
In 13 1-3 innings against the Padres this season, Billingsley has yet to allow a run. San Diego had yet to announce its starter as of press, but expect it to go with Kevin Correia (7-7, 5.06 ERA) on Thursday.
Clayton Richard (8-5, 2.48 ERA) gets the call for the Pads in Monday night’s series opener (10:10 p.m. ET), while the Dodgers counter with Hiroki Kuroda (8-9, 3.53 ERA). San Diego has played ‘over’ the listed total in Richard’s last six outings.
Oddsmakers opened the Padres as -130 chalk for Monday night’s game, while the Dodgers were on the board at +110. The total was set at 6.5, but was quickly bet up to 7 at most outlets.
Mat Latos (11-4, 2.45 ERA) takes his turn on Tuesday night (10:10 PM ET), and he’ll match up against Vicente Padilla (4-3, 3.47 ERA). Latos has allowed two earned runs or less in his last eight outings during which San Diego is 8-0 against the money line.
In Wednesday night’s third game (10:10 p.m. ET) of the four-game set, the Padres’ Wade LeBlanc (5-9, 3.49 ERA) dusts off the rubber opposite the Dodgers’ Carlos Monasterios (3-3, 3.61 ERA).
L.A. is 5-3 against San Diego in eight meetings this season, including a 1-1 mark at Chavez Ravine.
After adding a few new pieces to their team over the weekend, the Dodgers now have to get to work if they plan to catch Adrian Gonzalez and the Padres on top of the NL West Division standings.
The Los Angeles Dodgers brought in Ted Lilly, Ryan Theriot, Octavio Dotel and Scott Podsednik at the trade deadline to gear up for a playoff push in the National League West.
Smart moves? Maybe. For me, the acquisitions reek of desperation as the Dodgers fall from relevance in a division led by the still surprising San Diego Padres.
With the Dodgers (54-51 SU, -5.50 units) hanging on by a thread in the NL postseason picture, they host the Padres (61-42 SU, +22.41 units) in a four-game series at Dodger Stadium beginning on Monday night.
Look, I get there’s plenty of time remaining in the regular season, and that Los Angeles could realistically make a run at San Diego in the NL West or at San Francisco in the NL Wild Card chase.
Thing is, the Dodgers’ demise has been in the cards for months. L.A. has spent much of the season overperforming in the standings, and now the numbers are catching up to it.
The Dodgers currently trail the Pads by eight games in the division after their 2-0 loss to the Giants on Sunday night, and they’re lucky to be close. San Diego leads the NL with a +91 run differential, while Los Angeles is at only +5, good for 10th in the Senior Circuit.
Lilly and Dotel are good additions to the pitching staff, but what the Dodgers need is some pop in the lineup. Theriot is a fringe starter on a contender. Podsednik is a fourth outfielder at this point in his career.
Manny Ramirez (.309 BA/.409 OBP/.925 OPS/eight HRs) is still a serviceable hitter despite nearing the end of the line, but he’s played only 61 games this season and is currently on the 15-day disabled list with a right calf strain.
L.A. ranks 25th in home runs (78), and its offense is drying up at the wrong time. Heading into the week, the Dodgers were batting only .174 in their last 10 games.
Los Angeles needed to make moves along the lines of what San Diego did at the deadline. Only 25th in team BA (.251) and 26th in team OPS (.698), the Padres picked up Ryan Ludwick and Miguel Tejada to bolster the offense.
Ludwick and Tejada aren’t huge names, but San Diego only needs minor tweaking considering it’s the top team on the MLB moneylist. The Friars are also the most profitable wager on the road, where they’re up +14.81 units with a 28-20 SU record.
It wouldn’t surprise me if San Diego took three of four from L.A. this week. The one spot I’d look to play the Dodgers – if the betting odds price is low enough – is for Thursday night’s series finale (10:10 p.m. ET) when Chad Billingsley (9-5, 3.78 ERA) takes the ball.
Billingsley has a 21 2-3-inning scoreless streak going – a span of three starts – to lead a Los Angeles starting rotation that’s posted a 1.39 ERA in its last 10 games. That includes six innings of shutout baseball in the Dodgers’ 2-0 win at San Diego last Tuesday.
In 13 1-3 innings against the Padres this season, Billingsley has yet to allow a run. San Diego had yet to announce its starter as of press, but expect it to go with Kevin Correia (7-7, 5.06 ERA) on Thursday.
Clayton Richard (8-5, 2.48 ERA) gets the call for the Pads in Monday night’s series opener (10:10 p.m. ET), while the Dodgers counter with Hiroki Kuroda (8-9, 3.53 ERA). San Diego has played ‘over’ the listed total in Richard’s last six outings.
Oddsmakers opened the Padres as -130 chalk for Monday night’s game, while the Dodgers were on the board at +110. The total was set at 6.5, but was quickly bet up to 7 at most outlets.
Mat Latos (11-4, 2.45 ERA) takes his turn on Tuesday night (10:10 PM ET), and he’ll match up against Vicente Padilla (4-3, 3.47 ERA). Latos has allowed two earned runs or less in his last eight outings during which San Diego is 8-0 against the money line.
In Wednesday night’s third game (10:10 p.m. ET) of the four-game set, the Padres’ Wade LeBlanc (5-9, 3.49 ERA) dusts off the rubber opposite the Dodgers’ Carlos Monasterios (3-3, 3.61 ERA).
L.A. is 5-3 against San Diego in eight meetings this season, including a 1-1 mark at Chavez Ravine.
