The Los Angeles Dodgers and Cleveland Guardians clash Thursday in game 3 of an MLB series at Progressive Field. Let’s preview this game and give out a pick and prediction.
Los Angeles Dodgers Betting Preview
The Dodgers look to stay hot after winning 13 of their last 15 games. The Dodgers have an 11.5 game lead in the NL West. The Dodgers pitching staff is 17th in ERA (4.22), 6th in WHIP (1.23) and 14th in quality starts (44). The Dodgers’ offense is 3rd in runs per game (5.54), 14th in batting average (.251) and 2nd in homers (195). Freddie Freeman leads the Dodgers with 163 hits and 84 RBI, while Mookie Betts and Will Smith have combined for 236 hits and 149 RBI. Ryan Pepiot gets the ball, and he is 0-0 with a 1.80 ERA and 5 strikeouts this season. This will be Pepiot’s first career game against the Guardians.
Los Angeles Dodgers Team Facts
- The Dodgers have won 12 of their last 13 games after playing the previous day.
- The Dodgers have covered the run line in eight of their last nine road games following a loss.
- The Dodgers have trailed after 3 innings in five of their last seven games as road favorites against American League opponents.
- The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Dodgers’ last five road games against American League opponents.
- The Dodgers have trailed after 7 innings in four of their last five games as road favorites against AL Central opponents.
Los Angeles Dodgers Player Prop Facts
- Max Muncy has hit a home run in three of the Dodgers’ last four games as road favorites against AL opponents.
- Mookie Betts has recorded two or more hits in six of his last seven appearances in night games.
- Freddie Freeman has recorded an RBI in each of the Dodgers’ last seven night games against AL teams that held a losing record.
- Will Smith has recorded two or more total bases in each of his last four road appearances against opponents that held a losing record.
- Clayton Kershaw has recorded six or more strikeouts in 16 of his last 21 appearances against AL opponents.
- Mookie Betts has scored at least one run in each of his last six appearances at Progressive Field.
- Mookie Betts ranks 2nd amongst qualified players for Slugging Percentage (.598) this season.
Cleveland Guardians Betting Preview
The Guardians need a win after losing 6 of their last 10 games. The Guardians are 4.5 games behind the Twins in the AL Central. The Guardians pitching staff is 3rd in ERA (3.77), 13th in WHIP (1.27) and 12th in quality starts (47). The Guardians’ offense is 27th in runs per game (4.01), 17th in batting average (.249) and 30th in homers (92). Steven Kwan leads the Guardians with 135 hits and 43 RBI, while Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor have combined for 241 hits and 146 RBI. Gavin Williams gets the ball, and he is 1-4 with a 3.02 ERA and 63 strikeouts this season. This will be Williams’ first career game against the Dodgers.
Cleveland Guardians Team Facts
- The underdogs have won five of the last six games between the Dodgers and Guardians.
- The Guardians have failed to cover the run line in each of their last seven night games against NL West opponents following a home win.
- The Guardians have trailed after 3 innings in each of their last four home games against NL West opponents that held a winning record.
- The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Guardians’ last 11 games against NL West opponents.
- The Guardians have lost the first inning in each of their last three games.
Cleveland Guardians Player Prop Facts
- Ramon Laureano has hit a home run in each of his last two appearances with his team as a home underdog against NL West opponents.
- Jose Ramirez has recorded at least one RBI in each of the Guardians’ last six games against NL West opponents that held a winning record.
- Steven Kwan has scored at least one run in eight of the Guardians’ last nine games as home underdogs against NL opponents.
- Myles Straw has recorded two total bases in each of his last two appearances with the Guardians as underdogs.
- Jose Ramirez has recorded at least one hit in each of his last 10 appearances with the Guardians as underdogs against NL West opponents.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Cleveland Guardians ranks 30th in the league for home runs this season (91).
- The Cleveland Guardians ranks 1st in the league for strikeouts against this season (876).
- The Los Angeles Dodgers ranks 2nd in the league for home runs this season (195).
- The Los Angeles Dodgers ranks 2nd in the league for walks this season (503).
Randy’s Pick
The Dodgers should probably be favored given this run they’re on, but this is a weird spot given they have to finish last night’s game. Also, I’m not sure how much I trust Ryan Pepiot given he has just 41.1 career innings under his belt. Gavin Williams has been more than solid through 59.2 innings this season with his 3.02 ERA and 1.21 WHIP. Williams has allowed just 6 runs in his last 22 innings. At home, I’ll take a shot with the Guardians and the pitcher who has a larger sample size.
