The Los Angeles Dodgers will look to further extend their lead in the NL West Tuesday night when they continue their three-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks. After winning Monday’s series opener 3-1 in the desert, the Dodgers are hefty -220 road favorites to win on Tuesday.
The Diamondbacks are currently struggling to stay afloat in the NL West. Despite winning their weekend series with the Mets, the Diamondbacks closed out May on a five-game losing streak. They currently sit a game under .500 and 12 games behind Los Angeles in the division. On the bright side, they are just three games out of a wild-card spot, but after their series with the Dodgers, Arizona will hit the road for a 10-game road trip on the East Coast, so things aren’t getting any easier for them.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers continue to dominate everyone in their path. Monday’s win gave them 42 on the season, which is the most in baseball right now. They’ve won six in a row, nine of their last 10, and 15 of their last 18. Needless to say, losses have become a rare occurrence for the Dodgers, happening no more than once or twice per week.
Ace on the Hill
Hyun-Jin Ryu is back on the mound for Los Angeles on Tuesday. The Korean lefty is probably the best pitcher in baseball this year. Over 11 starts, Ryu is 8-1 with a 1.48 ERA and a WHIP of 0.81. He’s only getting better as the season goes along. Over his six starts in the month of May, Ryu allowed three runs over 45.2 innings, which comes out to a 0.59 ERA.
Needless to say, the Diamondbacks have their work cut out for them. Things have actually been going well for Arizona offensively lately. The core of Christian Walker, Eduardo Escobar, Ketel Marte, and Adam Jones are all producing right now, combining for 10 home runs in the last seven games. However, keeping that going will be difficult against Ryu, who has found a way to shut down every lineup he’s faced this year.
Who’s This Guy?
Rookie Taylor Clarke will get the start for Arizona on Tuesday. He’s filling in at the back end of Arizona’s rotation at the moment. He had a decent outing against the Giants a couple of weeks ago but lasted just two innings against the Rockies in his last time out, giving up five runs. Clarke also posted an ERA of 7.22 over his seven starts in Triple-A this season, so the chances of him containing an all-world Los Angeles lineup appear slim.
Despite being held to just three runs on Monday, the Dodgers haven’t stopped mashing all season. Cody Bellinger looks like the MVP front-runner with 20 home runs and an OPS of 1.195. Joc Pederson isn’t far behind with 18 home runs while Justin Turner, Max Muncy, and Alex Verdugo all have an OPS over .800 on the season.
Almost a Sure Thing
There’s no such thing as a sure thing, but this game is as close as they get. The odds of Clarke containing the Los Angeles lineup and Ryu having a poor outing are agonizingly low, at least from Arizona’s perspective. While there’s little upside from a betting perspective, the safe move is to bet on the Dodgers to beat the Diamondbacks on Tuesday.
