MLB Series Wagering - Dodgers at Rockies

With the Memorial Day holiday weekend about to go into full swing, the race in the National League West starts to heat up also. The unofficial beginning of summer marks when television and radio announcers can no longer say “it’s still early”, with a third of the season soon to be completed. The Dodgers and Rockies meet for a second time in 2010, this time in Colorado.

Both clubs are chasing confounding San Diego, with Los Angeles (26-21, -1.2 units) two games back in the standings and Colorado (25-22, +0.7) three behind.

The Rockies have been ravaged by injuries to their pitching staff, but have started to overcome them riding a five-game winning streak. The Colorado offense has started to hit its stride in winning six of seven, scoring 5.4 runs per game and moving up to sixth overall in the National League. In their last four games the Rocks have launched 11 home runs.

The Dodgers offense has been feast or famine this season. Los Angeles is fourth in the NL at 4.9 RPG, but they were shut out twice at Wrigley Field this week, giving them seven zeros already, after being held scoreless just nine times in 2009.

As per usual Colorado is enjoying the benefits of Coors Field and are 14-7 (+4.8) at home and will start Jeff Francis (1-0, 0.68 ERA), who missed all of 2009 with shoulder surgery. In his two starts this year, Francis looks very much like the pitcher that won 17 games and led Rockies to World Series. Sportsbooks have Francis and teammates as -152 money line favorites and they are 18-3 as a home chalk of -150 to -175 over the last two seasons.

The Dodgers are still looking for another starting pitcher and give the ball to Carlos Monasterios (1-0, 1.90) for a second time. Monasterios has 10 other relief appearances but is excited about another opportunity. “I like starting,” said the rookie right-hander. With the total at 9.5, Monasterios will attempt to do his part and improve L.A.’s 40-20 record when the total is 9 to 9.5.

Game 1 Edge: Colorado

Colorado is feeling really good about their recent play coming into the series. “We’re definitely playing better,” said Troy Tulowitzki, who’s homered four times in five games. “We’re playing defense, pitching a little better and getting some timely hitting, mixed in with some power.”
Since last season the Rockies are 41-16 at home after three or more consecutive Coors contests and will have Aaron Cook (1-3. 5.40) on the hill. Cook’s strength as a pitcher is nibbling on the corners and keeping his heavy fastball low in the strike zone. To date he has lacked his usual efficiency and has as many walks as strikeouts (25). He’s going to need more control to extend his team’s 5-0 record when he starts at home.

The Dodgers have certainly held the upper hand against Colorado recently. Los Angeles is 17-5 against the Rocks since the beginning of last year and has won eight consecutive series dating back to Sept. 2008. Joe Torre’s club has also emerged victorious nine of previous 12 at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Hiroki Kuroda (5-2, 3.03) has been most effective this season, pitching at least into the sixth inning in all his starts and allowing more than three runs just once. Manager Torre moved Kuroda back a day in the rotation and he and his blue-capped team are 11-3 when he pitches with five days of rest.

Game 2 Edge: L.A. Dodgers

The series finale is a solid pitching matchup featuring lefty Clayton Kershaw (4-3, 2.90) against Jhoulys Chacin (3-2, 3.09). Kershaw has been living up to all the potential heaped on him the last few years and has 0.64 ERA in his last four starts with 27 K’s in 28 1/3 innings. Coors Field hasn’t been his favorite place to pitch with 2-2 record and 6.92 ERA. The Dodgers are 7-8 in day games and Kershaw has to command the strike zone with his 91-95 mph fastball to set up his “Uncle Charley” curve.

Like Kershaw, Chacin is also 22 years old and has a five pitch arsenal that can baffle hitters. He’s harnessed his control (13 W, 30 K) and only permitted 22 hits over 32 innings with opposing batters nicking him for .188 batting average. He'll be facing the Dodgers for the second time, having pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings against Los Angeles on May 8. Colorado is much better in day games with 12-7 record and with these two young starters, the Rockies might add another UNDER to 13-5-1 mark in day baseball.

Game 3 Edge: L.A. Dodgers

Haven’t been very good in picking series winners thus far and instead will follow a little football logic of never better against a strong trend. The Dodgers have owned Colorado the last few seasons and not have to face Ubaldo Jimenez has me leaning with Torre’s troops.

Series odds: Los Angeles +115, Colorado -145

3Daily Winners Pick: L.A. Dodgers

2010 Record – 2-5

Great System, Great Video

The Los Angeles Dodgers had their nine-game win streak snapped at an inopportune time, losing last night to division leading San Diego 10-5. The Padres were the first team in ten games to rip thru the Dodgers pitching, who had allowed 18 total runs during their scorching streak.

Los Angeles will attempt to begin another charge at first place and split the quick two game series against San Diego.

The Dodgers defense has been a source of concern all year, ranking 11th in the National League. However they have tightened up all aspects of their game and have gone six contests without an error.

Manager Joe Torre will hand the horse-hide over to Clayton Kershaw (3-2, 3.55 ERA, 1.358 WHIP), which should put smile on everyone face (along with below video) preferring the home team for sports betting purposes. Kershaw has allowed one run in his last two starts, permitting five hits over 15 innings, striking out 16 opposing batters. Equally as important for him the left-hander is giving up just five walks.

L.A. is 29-8 in home games after a loss and will face Kevin Correia (4-3, 4.35, 1.220) who Kershaw and the Dodgers downed 4-1 last Saturday in San Diego. Correia allowed the four runs over 5 1/3 innings in the defeat while attempting to overcome the emotional scars of losing his younger brother, Trevor, who died after falling from a 60-foot cliff while hiking on Santa Cruz Island.

Sportsbooks have Los Angeles as -158 money line favorites, despite having Andre Either out the lineup and possibly Manny Ramirez, who injured his left foot before yesterday’s contest and was scratched from the starting nine and later was used as pinch-hitter. Nevertheless, the situation is quite favorable for the home team in this I-5 conflict.

Play On favorites with a money line of -125 to -175, after three straight games where they committed no errors, starting a pitcher who gave up one or fewer earned runs in his last two outings.

This baseball system is 62-16, 79.5 percent since Daniel Powter’s No. 1 Billboard hit “Bad Day” (2006) and the margin of victory has been decisive, with the favored club winning by 2.4 runs per contest. Everything points to a Dodgers triumph with L.A. 33-13 in May games since last year.

NL West Heats Up

Exactly one month ago, the Los Angeles Dodgers were as close to a lock to win the division as there was in baseball. Manager Joe Torre’s club led the National League West by nine games and was running smoother than a brand new Nissan 370Z on the Pacific Coast Highway. However, baseball’s fortunes can shift gears quickly and over a 162-game schedule, very few teams in the history of the game have managed to avoid rough patches and run wide open all season.

Los Angeles (74-51, +12.4 units) has seen their lead in the division diminish to three games for two reasons, one of their own doing. The Dodgers are 12-16 since July 25, and have a faulty offense to blame. L.A. has scored three or less runs in 13 of its recent 16 losses and it doesn’t seem to be a coincidence that without Juan Pierre in the lineup on a regular basis, with Manny Ramirez back patrolling leftfield, there are fewer scoring chances with runners in scoring position. Though the Dodgers won three of four over the Chicago Cubs, they managed to score five total runs in last three contests and are 27-45 after scoring two runs or less three straight games.

The Colorado Rockies (71-54, +14 units) have been the other reason for the club from La-La Land hasn’t been able to get away with playing undistinguished baseball. Since former Dodger manager Jim Tracy took over, Colorado is 53-26, proving not to be the mercurial club like in the past. The Rockies have won 18 of last 28 to close the gap to present number and came from behind three times against San Francisco, their nearest wild card competitor, to win the series 3-1, which included last night’s improbable walk off grand slam by Ryan Spilbroghs in the bottom of the 14th. Colorado comes into this series 15-4 after consecutive wins by two runs or less.

The Rockies will be tested mentally, since they have lost 10 of 12 to Los Angeles, including five of six at Coors Field. Jason Hammel (8-7, 4.54 ERA) will be the game one hurler for the Rocks and they have won seven of his last 10 starts. Los Angeles will counter with Clayton Kershaw (8-7, 2.96) who’s needed a directional-finder this month. The young lefty had been pitching brilliantly this season, however since August; he’s walked 15 batters in 19 innings. The increased wildness and the lack of run support (2.3 RPG) have seen the Dodgers lose Kershaw’s last six starts, after winning the previous seven.

This NL West affair opened with the Dodgers as -125 money line favorites at Bookmaker.com and the number has moved against L.A. to -110, with total Un9.5. Colorado is on 26-10 roll at home and has punished lefties, winning 11 of last 12 at Coors. The Rockies are 9-1-1 OVER against teams with a winning record.

The Dodgers have experience in handling Colorado and are 14-5 on the road when the total is 9 to 9.5 this season and is 15-5 UNDER when the money line is -100 to -150, with Kershaw pitching.

This anticipated conflict and series will be available in local markets and on MLB.TV starting at 8:40 Eastern.

Sunday Night Baseball Preview

After missing the first six weeks with an elbow injury, Los Angeles Angels right-hander John Lackey has had an up-and-down season. When he has faced the Los Angeles Dodgers in Anaheim in the Freeway Series, however, he’s enjoyed nothing but success. Lackey brings a 21-inning scoreless home streak against the Dodgers into Sunday night’s series finale as he tries to improve to 9-0 in his career in interleague starts at Angel Stadium.

The Angels (36-30, +7 units) have seen Lackey (2-2, 6.10 ERA, 1.565 WHIP) sprinkle in a few solid outings while getting hit hard in others in 2009 since he made his season debut May 16.
At home in interleague play, though, Lackey is 8-0 with a 2.00 ERA in 11 starts - all wins for the Angels. That includes a 4-0 mark with a 0.33 ERA in four outings against the Dodgers, with 21 straight scoreless innings.

Lackey faced the Dodgers (45-24, +18 units) on the road May 23 and yielded three runs over seven innings in a 5-4, 10-inning loss. In his last start, he won Monday at San Francisco by allowing three runs over seven innings while striking out a season-high 10 and walking none in a 9-7 victory.

“I really established the ball inside early in the game,” Lackey told the Angels’ official Web site Monday, “and that allowed me to get guys to go after the curveball. It’s probably the best curveball I’ve had so far this year.” The tall Texan and his Angels’ teammates have won last five Game 3’s his been the hurler.

Several hitters for the Dodgers have fared poorly versus Lackey. Casey Blake is 2 for 16, Andre Ethier 2 for 9 and Matt Kemp is hitless in nine at-bats with seven strikeouts. Those three hitters combined for four hits and three RBIs Saturday as the Dodgers ended the Angels’ season-high seven-game winning streak with a 6-4 victory. Russell Martin added three hits, including his first homer of the year, to help the Dodgers improve to 2-3 against the Angels.

With the Dodgers starting left-hander Clayton Kershaw (3-5, 4.13, 1.364) on Sunday, the Angels are hoping Juan Rivera can take advantage. Rivera is 0 for 2 with a walk in his career versus Kershaw, but he is one of the top hitters in the majors against left-handers with a .431 average. Rivera is 7 for 20 with two homers and five runs scored against the Dodgers this year while leadoff hitter Chone Figgins is 10 for 20 in the Freeway Series, and 19 for 45 (.422) with 11 runs scored in 11 interleague games.

“When you’re a line-drive-hitting team like we are,” Figgins told the Angels’ site, “you build on your own momentum. We get a base hit, go first to third, and suddenly, everything is in motion.”
Kershaw is 0-2 with a 3.29 ERA in three starts since his last win May 27 at Colorado. He gave up four hits over 5 2/3 innings Tuesday in a 5-4, 10-inning win over Oakland. The Dodgers are hoping Kershaw can just keep them in the game and get into the Halos putrid bullpen, since they are 24-11 vs. a mediocre pen whose ERA is 4.50 or worse this season.

The Dodgers victory over the A’s is the only win in Kershaw’s five career interleague starts - he is 0-1 with a 2.66 ERA in those outings. Kershaw’s lone career start against the Angels came May 22 and he gave up one run in five innings in a 3-1 loss.

Bookmaker.com has the Angels as -128 money line favorites with a total of Ov8.5. The team from Anaheim is 15-3 playing at the Big A when playing on Sunday over the last two seasons and 24-6 at home after three straight games where they committed no errors. With Lackey on the hill, the Angels are 17-5 UNDER in intrleague contests.

The Dodgers are 13-6 (+10.1 Units) against the money line as a road underdog of +100 to +150 and 24-8 when the total is 8.5 to 10 this season. The team actually from L.A. is 15-6 UNDER in interleague action against club that has winning record.

The starting time for this Father’s Day game is 8:05 Eastern on ESPN, with the Halos having won six of the last eight meetings on home turf.

Santosh Venkataraman, STATS Senior writer contributed to this article.

Wagering on division leaders to win

The Los Angeles Dodgers were picked by most experts to win the National League West and to date they have not disappointed with 10-3 start. The Toronto Blue Jays were presumed to be about as relevant as a Hummer and instead has been nearly as big a surprise as Susan Boyle in taking the lead position in the American League East, ahead of the likely clubs picked to finish ahead of them. The Dodgers and Blue Jays start new series’ and look to improve leads.

Toronto (10-4, +6.2 units) was supposed to have Roy Halladay (3-0, 3.00 ERA, 1.048 WHIP) and little else for starting pitchers, due to injuries. Instead, manager Cito Gaston has been able to piece together a pitching staff and last year’s dormant offense has exploded.

The Blue Jays are fourth in runs allowed in the American League at 4.1 per game, as opponents are hitting just .233 (second in baseball) against them. Offensively, Toronto is tearing the cover off the ball, scoring 6.2 runs per game (4th), thanks to ranking third in home runs with 22. This hasn’t been by accident either, as they lead the major leagues in total bases and are the best hitting team in the AL at .290.

This all makes Halladay’s job easier, as he has been sharp to start the year with 17 strikeouts and only three walks in 21 innings. The Jays are 87-39 (+27.7 Units) against the money line in home games when he takes the ball and Bookmaker.com acknowledges this making Toronto a -215 ML favorite with total Un8.5 against Texas (5-7, -2.9 units).

The Rangers were expected to score runs and they have and the pitching staff was believed to be a problem and it is. Texas leads the majors in scoring and home runs and its bullpen has ERA of 7.45 (gulp), with not many places to turn. As one might expect, the Rangers are 9-2-1 OVER to start 2009 and 13-2 OVER in road games with a struggling bullpen whose WHIP is over 1.750 the last 10 games. Amazingly, Texas is 13-2 (+16.1 Units) when the total is 8 to 8.5 and Brandon McCarthy (1-0, 4.91, 1.455) will try to trade pitches with Halladay.

As impressive as Toronto has been, the Dodgers (+7 units) have been even more so. Los Angeles leads baseball with a .302 batting average and is the top scoring club in the senior circuit at 6.3 RPG. This offensive outburst hasn’t been about Manny Ramirez, more about how others have watched him prepare.

Andre Either was named the NL player of the week after hitting .391 with four homers and 12 RBIs in his last six games, while 2B Orlando Hudson is 13-for-24 (.542) with five RBIs during the same span. For good measure, centerfielder Matt Kemp has hit safely in all 13 games, batting .383 with three homers and 14 RBIs.

While many concerns have been raised about Dodgers starting pitchers being too young to possibly survive a whole season, they have plenty of strength in the early going with team ERA of 3.16 (4th) and opposing hitters right at the Mendoza line at .200.

Clayton Kershaw (0-0, 1.50, 0.667) is off borderline historic performance in his last start, when he struck out 13 Giants in seven innings. The 13 punchouts by the 21-year old lefty is the most by a young Dodger pitcher since a 19-year named Sandy Koufax did the same almost 54 years ago.

The Dodgers make their first trip out of the Pacific Time Zone to Houston (4-9, -5.6). The Astros have a number of veteran players who aren’t hitting, as three runs per game and .250 BA proves. L.A. is 30-14 against the money line vs. an NL team with a team batting average of .250 or worse and is a -161 favorite with total at 9.5.

Houston might be 10-0 UNDER off a one run loss versus a division rival over the last two seasons, however they haven’t started Russ Ortiz (0-0 6.23, 1.839) in next game, who missed all of last year with arm injury and hasn’t been effective big league pitcher in years.

About the only bad thing you can come up with on the Dodgers is the law of averages catching up to them. They have won eight straight and manager Joe Torre is 11-16 after eight or more consecutive wins in all games he has managed since 1997.