Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Dodgers Betting Preview
Saturday evening will feature the second of a three-game interleague series as the Detroit Tigers (6-13) take on the Los Angeles Dodgers (13-6). Los Angeles will host this one at Dodger Stadium, with the first pitch scheduled for 10:10 pm ET.
In the first game of this matchup, the Dodgers took down Detroit 5-1 on Friday. In the win, Tyler Anderson threw five innings, allowing one earned run on five hits.
Offensively, Justin Turner and Chris Taylor both homered for the Dodgers. In total, Los Angeles had six hits and four walks in the victory.
The Tigers’ Tyler Alexander took the loss for Detroit. He went just 2.1 innings, allowing four runs on three hits and two walks.
Javier Baez had two hits and a run batted in for the Tigers, but that was the extent of the scoring for Detroit.
The Dodgers are the favorites playing at home Saturday. They are -350 to win while the Tigers’ moneyline sits at +280. The runline features Detroit +1.5 (+126), and the over/under for total runs is eight.
Pitching Matchup
The Tigers will send righty Beau Brieske (0-1, 5.40 ERA) to the mound Saturday. In his lone start of the season, Brieske allowed three runs in five innings against Colorado back on April 23.
Los Angeles will counter with veteran lefty Clayton Kershaw. This season, he is a perfect 3-0 with a 2.65 ERA, 0.59 WHIP, and has 23 strikeouts in just 17 innings of work.
Tigers Trying To Live Up To Potential
After finishing third in the AL Central with a 77-85 record last season, many pegged the Detroit Tigers as a team to watch as they look to take the next step in competing in the division. Unfortunately for Tigers’ fans, they have gotten off to a brutal 6-13 start and are looking to find ways to play to their potential.
It really hasn’t mattered where Detroit has played, as they have been bad both home and on the road. At home, they are 4-8 this season, while they are 2-5 on the road.
One bright spot for Detroit has been the play of 22-year-old phenom Spencer Torkelson. In 58 at bats, he is hitting just .207, but he leads the team with three home runs and is second on the team with eight runs batted in.
Signed during the offseason, Javier Baez has shown flashes of brilliance. In 39 at bats, he is hitting .282/.317/.487 with two home runs and a team-leading nine runs batted in. He has also had success against Kershaw in his career, hitting .385 in 13 at bats with two home runs.
Dodgers Looking To Dominate Tough NL West
At 13-6, the Dodgers have been one of the best teams in baseball this season. Like last year, though, their division is loaded as both the Padres (14-7) and Giants (13-7) are also off to fantastic starts.
Luckily, Los Angeles has been dominant at home. Thus far, they are 7-1 when playing at Dodger Stadium.
Cody Bellinger has had a rough couple of seasons, but he has shown signs of promise this year. Despite hitting just .214/.276/.457, he leads the team in home runs (four) while also adding eight runs batted in and seven runs scored. He has stolen three bags to this point.
Freddie Freeman was the Dodgers’ biggest offseason acquisition, and he hasn’t disappointed in the short term. Through 74 at bats, he is hitting .311/.388/.486 with three home runs, nine runs batted in, and 14 runs scored.
Take Dodgers To Win And Cover
Not only do the Dodgers just have a better team on paper, but all of the trends suggest Los Angeles is the pick to make in this game.
Detroit is 0-6 in their last six games, 0-5 in their last five road games, and they are 3-7 in their last ten games when playing against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.
On the flip side, Los Angeles has been absolutely dominant at home and ranks first in runs per game at 5.00.
Taking everything into account, including a rejuvenated Clayton Kershaw on the mound, taking the Dodgers to win and to cover the -1.5 runline is the smart play in this one.
